


TMNT AU Volume 2: Intertwined

by Ithiliam



Series: TMNT AU: Prophecy [2]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, TMNT-AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29142306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithiliam/pseuds/Ithiliam
Summary: After their almost fatal encounter with the Shredder, the turtles have kept a low profile by prioritizing stopping the Kraang and their plan to which they will come to discover very soon. Even with that, however, both of their enemies become intertwined, resulting in events that become the seedlings of a partnership that will aid the turtles in the future yet to come.
Relationships: Donatello/April O'Neil (TMNT), Karai/Leonardo (TMNT)
Series: TMNT AU: Prophecy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138820
Kudos: 1





	1. Unlikely Partnership

**Author's Note:**

> This entire volume is the only volume that has no comic chapters. Which means you don't need to go somewhere else to read the story. :)

It has been a few months since the turtles had last battled the Shredder. They were hit hard. They remained underground for a couple of weeks, in recovery but also in fear, fear of the Shredder finding them. The turtles had underestimated their opponent and were now paying the consequences.

Their mother had prohibited them from searching out the Foot and told them to focus on other matters around the city. While the Foot run free, the turtles are off fighting the Kraang, trying to stop whatever they are planning. They are more important at the moment.

As for the Foot, their operation became easier for them in trying to take over the city. With no turtles around, they didn't have to worry about them sabotaging their plans.

* * *

It was a cold night in the early days of March, the wind blew over the city as it kept the small remnants of snow from melting away. The crunching sound of snow was heard on top of the rooftops. Karai and a few Foot soldiers had finished their recon mission and were heading back to Foot Headquarters, right beside the Hudson River.

As they ran, one by one, Karai's men disappeared. She did not take notice of this, she just kept on running, wanting to get out of the harsh weather as fast as possible. She jumped down from one rooftop to another when suddenly she was met with a dozen robots. The same robots who had attacked her many months before. The Kraang.

They had been set up to ambush them. They surrounded her and her men, weapons in hand and ready to fight. But she wasn't going to end without a fight.

"Foot! Attack!" She ordered as she unsheathed her ninjata, the blade glistening in the moonlight of the night.

What was left of her soldiers fought off the Kraang but they quickly realized they were outmatched. Their weapons did not make a scratch on the metal bodies, some breaking on impact. The Kraang captured several foot soldiers and fled with them to who knows where. This was getting out of hand and it was only a matter of time before Karai was captured as well.

"Foot! Retreat!" Karai ordered her remaining soldiers. Taking out a smoke bomb from her pocket, she threw it to the ground, the small object exploding with its continents spreading throughout the crisp air. Once the smoke had dissipated, the Foot were gone.

* * *

"It is true, father! Those robots I had told you about came out and ambushed us, taking most of my men with them." Karai informed her father, who was sitting in his throne room alongside Cheng.

"This is not good. It seems like we have more enemies to wipe clean off the city. I want you to investigate where their stronghold is. Recon only." Saki ordered her. "We must know our enemy before aiming a move."

"Hai, father." Karai bowed and turned to leave both men in the dimly lit room. Once she was out of the room, Cheng sighed, having held in a breath.

"What is it, Cheng?" Saki asked curiously.

"I sense something sinister is coming. I don't we should have sent Karai on this mission." the elderly man confessed.

"I'm sure it can't be anything that bad. Karai is the best soldier in the entire clan, she can handle herself." Saki reassured.

Cheng did not respond but his mind lingered on his premonition.

* * *

The turtles were getting ready to head up to the surface to find another Kraang base. Wrapping their arms with bandages and tightening their elbow and knee pads, they gathered their weapons and started to head out towards the van that was parked in the garage.

Tang Shen peered out the entrance of the dojo, watching her sons leave once more to the world above. She was hesitant of letting them go out once again, since the battle with Shredder, her worry over them had increased. Not only that but the anger she has for Oroku Saki.

Once her sons had left, she retreated into the dojo. Standing in front of the shrine that was built into the wall, she bent down to grab the katana that was displayed on the wooden pedestal. She drew out the sword enough to see part of the blade, sharp and pristine since its forging. The sleek surface reflected her face like a mirror. She stared intently into the blade.

The katana had been made specifically for her when she was still human and part of the Hamato clan. It has drawn blood and has seen many things throughout the years. The last time it was unsheathed from its scabbard was against the Shredder.

The Shredder. Oroku Saki. The man that destroyed her family.

Rage filled her hands as she tightened her grip on the sword. Perhaps she could draw her sword one last time.

She quickly pushed the blade back into the scabbard before turning around and walking right out of the dojo.

* * *

Karai made her way to a Kraang base, using her leads to figure out where they would be located. Unfortunately, her leads led her nowhere. Most of them were mere rumors. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a van, a white van with a logo of a turtle shell.

"The turtles." She stated. She knew the turtles had a quarrel with the Kraang, perhaps following them would lead to her to them. She followed not far behind them.

After driving for a while, the van stopped in an alleyway near their destination. The back door opened and the turtles hopped out with April staying inside working the computers.

"Remember the plan guys, once we're in, we find their main computer, Donnie uses the chip he made to collect and erase the data inside before hightailing out of there and blow up the place," Leo explained the plan to his brothers who only rolled their eyes.

"We know fearless leader! Not like we've been doing that for the past couple months!" Raph nagged as he shut the doors to the van.

"Yeah well, some of you have been forgetting what to do for the past couple months, _Raphael_." The eldest argued back.

The red turtle merely clicked his tongue. "Touché."

"There is an entrance on the roof of the building. We should be able to get in no problem." Donnie interrupted as he looked over the blueprints on his screen being hologram by his wrist communicator.

"Alright, let's go," Leo said before heading up through the fire escape to the roof. His brothers followed shortly behind while April stayed in the van. They reach the roof and observe the area.

Raphael hears faint steps from behind the roof access of the building. His gut tells him they were being watched and decides to investigate.

" _The roof is clear guys,_ " April said through her microphone to Donnie's headset which was attached to his goggles.

"Roger that. The coast is clear." Donnie said to his leader.

"Hey, where's Raph?" Mikey pointed out.

"Gotcha!" Raph appeared from behind the roof entrance with Karai in his grasp. He held her arms behind her back in one hand while he wrapped his right arm on her neck. "Thought you could sneak up on us and take us out," Raph mocked her.

"Karai?!" The turtles blurted in surprise. They hadn't seen her since they had fought the Shredder and yet here she is.

" _Guys what's going on?!_ " April asked worryingly.

"Karai followed us," Donnie answered.

" _Is that bad?_ "

"We'll see _._ "

"I wasn't going to kill you!" Karai told them, still trying to get out of the red turtle's iron grip.

"That's what you want us to believe! Did Shredder sent you to finish the job?" Donnie interrogated her as he pointed his staff at her.

"My father would rather finish the job himself than let anyone else do it. Besides, I'm here on other business." She spat out.

"What kind of business?" Leo asked her.

"Not sure if I should tell you." She replied.

"Tell us." Leo drew his katana and perched the blade to her thin neck, causing Karai to cease her struggle to avoid getting cut. His azure eyes staring menacingly into Karai's dark brown ones. She could see the anger inside him even if his face remained calm. She knew he was serious.

"I _won't_ hesitate."

He moved the blade closer to her neck, the end barely scraping the soft, pale skin. She gulped before speaking.

"I am on a recon mission. I was assigned to find the Kraang's base and find useful information that the Foot could use to get rid of them." She confessed.

"You're after the kraang? Why?" Leo asked curiously, turning to look at his brothers who seem to be taken aback by her statement. Why would the Foot be after the Kraang? Did they do something to them?

"They had ambushed and captured our men the other night after a mission. My father found that as a threat and sent me to investigate. Leonardo… trust me when I say I am telling you the truth." She explained further.

Leonardo gazed into her eyes, trying to see if she was lying to him, keeping his blade close. But she wasn't, he could see she was telling the truth. He didn't want to accept it, especially after learning who she was back when they had met but he couldn't bring himself to harm her. She has done nothing wrong against them, she had kept their secret from the Shredder.

Hesitantly, he removed his katana from her neck and gestured Raphael to let her go. She stumbled a bit but regained her footing on the snow-covered rooftop as she brought her hand up to massage her neck. Leo repointed the tip of his katana to Karai's throat, capturing her attention.

"Don't think I'm letting you go that easily. You're coming with us." Leo told her.

"Not like I was going anywhere else." She replied, using her hand to remove the blade away from her. Leo tucked it away back into its scabbard.

Karai glances at the Kraang Base, "So this is the Kraang's base. I imagined there would be more to it." She said disappointedly looking at the worn and old structure. It looked nothing more than an abandoned building.

"No time for sightseeing. Let's go." Leo ordered before jumping off the roof and heading towards the base, everyone following close behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Foot Headquarters, Saki was training in his dojo. It captured the essence of a traditional dojo. The entire room was built with dark mahogany for the wood on the walls, ceiling, and floor. A couple of mats laid in the middle of the floor with a couple of punching bags hanging from the ceiling. On one side of the wall was a rack of wooden bo staff and tonfa.

In the center of one of the walls is a kamidana, a miniature Shinto shrine. It is adorned with wooden sculptures of a real shrine along with a couple of cups and jewels, candles, and incense. A small photograph was also present.

Performing kata after kata, he worked his muscles to become bigger and stronger. He wasn't alone in the room, however. Sitting beside the shrine was his council and the mystic Cheng. He sat on his knees with his staff laid beside him, a tea set laid out on a tray on the floor. He held a small cup filled with the leaf water.

After executing another successful set of katas, Saki took a moment to rest, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his forearm. His muscles ached from the movements. He collected himself once more and began the kata again. Clenching his fists, he let out a deep sigh before his body started moving.

Cheng took a small sip of his tea before setting it down on the tray.

"I sense something is bothering you, Saki. Is it about Karai?" Cheng stated.

"No. It's not about her." Saki replied, knowing full well he couldn't lie to Cheng. Cheng had always been able to sense people's auras better than most people. Saki's is no exception. For nearly 20 years he and Saki had been together, he knew how to read him.

Cheng is perplexed by his answer, "Then what is it that's bothering you?"

"It's about..." Saki finished his kata. He turns his head and gazes at the photograph on the kamidana.

Inside the photograph was a young man and a young woman, both Japanese. Both had sleek black hair and bright brown eyes. The man had sharper features while the woman had more round and soft features. Both were smiling brightly.

The man and woman in that photograph were Hamato Yoshi and Tang Shen.

"...Them."

"Saki..." Cheng grabs his staff and lifts himself from the ground and comes to stand beside his sensei. He stares at the image.

"You know they are dead." He says bluntly.

"I am not so sure anymore," Saki tells him.

"How could you not?! You saw them perish! You were the one to deal them their fate! You were the one who killed them!" Cheng retorted.

"You don't have to remind me of that! I know full well about what I've done, it still haunts me to this day." Saki snapped. He takes time to relax, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath.

"Ever since I fought those turtles, I have been reminded of them." Saki started. "The way those mutants fought, they fought the same as them."

"They were trained by someone from the Hamato clan, that we know for sure. The shuriken Ocho had brought us told us that but to say they were trained by Yoshi or Shen is preposterous." Cheng reasoned.

"Cheng, I'm being serious. Those turtles fight exactly like them, one of them has to be alive!" Saki argued. "And the other one, the one that came to rescue them only further proves my point. That ninja, they had to be one of them."

Cheng sighed, shaking his head as he brought his hand to his head. "I fear your head is in the clouds, Saki."

"Believe me, I know one of them is alive."

"Tell me again once you have proof of it." Cheng turns around and walks out of the dojo, leaving Saki alone as he watches the old man leave his sight.

He sighs, turning around back to the Kamidana. He picks up two sandalwood incense sticks from the box sitting upon the shelf and hovers them above the flames of the candles. Once lit, he places them on the ashtray in the middle of the shelf. He breathes in the woody smell of the incense, letting himself relax and clear his mind.

He sits upon the mat on the floor and closes his eyes. He breathes in and out in a constant and even rhythm.

Not moments later, a cloaked figure emerges from the shadows, walking away from one of the columns adorning the room. With sword in hand, the blade glistened in the light the candles provided, allowing the patterns inside the blade to shrine through. The figure came to stand behind Saki, the blade of their sword resting slightly above his head.

* * *

The turtles and Karai enter the dimly light building and sneak their way through. After checking every room in the building, they end up on the main floor, a lab that was completely stripped and powered out, the only source of light was the light from their phones. The entire building was empty.

"It's empty?" Leo asked confused.

"April, you sure we're in the right place? It's completely empty in here." Donnie spoke into his communicator.

" _I'm sure. Perhaps the tracker got messed up or something._ " April responded.

"So I followed you four for nothing," Karai mumbled disappointedly, crossing her arms above her chest. She began wandering around the room, glancing back and forth on the undusted decor.

" _Wait guys I'm getting some readings. Something's not right._ " April told them. Her fingers typed away at the keys, trying to figure out the problem.

As Leo wandered around, he tripped on something metal as it had made a clanking sound. He bent over and directed his phone on what he tripped on. The light illuminated a chain, a thick metal chain. He picked it up and tried to see where it led too. It was attached to metal plates on the ground. A trap and Karai was on top of it.

" _Donnie!_ " April called out frantically.

"April, what's wrong?!" Donnie responded, worried by the sound of her voice.

" _Guys get out of there!_ " April shouted through the microphone.

"Karai!" Leo called out as he ran to push Karai off of the metal plates but in doing so got himself trapped inside a cage. The chain was pulled and lifted the cage up into the air.

"Leo!" Everyone called out.

"Guys! It's a trap!" Leo warned them.

Suddenly, the lights were switched on, revealing a dozen kraang with guns surrounding them.

"We got you now turtles!" A Kraang soldier shouted.

"Guys, you know what to do," Raph said to his brothers. They got out their weapons and began attacking the Kraang. Karai too joined the fray, helping the turtles take down the kraang. They managed to take care of the robots but more kept flooding into the room.

Suddenly a giant mech version of the Kraang entered the lab, his giant gun pointing directly at the turtles.

"Oh no…" Mikey said aloud.

"Run!" Raph yelled.

The giant mech began firing at the turtles who scurried away from it, dodging the rapid shots of plasma.

" _Guys! What's happening in there?!_ " April asked worryingly. On her computer, many yellow dots covered the screen, all surrounding the turtles.

"Can't talk! Trying not to die here!" Donnie responded as he took down another Kraang robot.

Karai glanced up to the cage and the chain. She began climbing the chain up towards the cage, deciding to set Leonardo free.

"Karai." He said when she managed to get to the cage.

"Don't move." She told him. She sawed off the chain that was holding the cage in the air and let it fall to the floor. The cage broke on impact, letting Leo out of it.

"Thanks…" He said to her as she slid down the chain to the ground. She nodded in response.

"Focus on the fight." She told him.

Before she went back, Leo put his hand on her shoulder, catching her attention. He took out one of his katana from its sheath and handed it to Karai.

"Your ninjata won't work on them, use mine. It can cut through them." He told her before she grabbed his sword. It was longer, sleeker, and more lightweight but it felt powerful. She tightened her grip on the tsuka, admiring the blue tsukamaki.

"Let's show these things who's boss," Karai smirked before she headed back into the fight with Leo following behind.

"So princess of the Foot _is_ on our side," Raph commented to his blue-clad brother.

"Quit talking and fight." Leo scolded him before both began taking on the kraang.

The giant mech stilling fired at the turtles and it didn't seem it was letting up any time soon.

"Guys! Takedown the legs!" Leo ordered as he began finding a way up the robot.

The turtles began tearing down one leg of the robot, ripping out wiring and jamming the joints all the while keeping the Kraang off their backs and avoiding the shots of plasma. They managed to take one down and were ready to take down the second one.

Karai, on the other hand, had another idea. She began climbing up the side of the robot, eventually reaching the right arm. She stayed still as the robot tried to aim at the turtles with its left. Once it slowed down, she gripped Leo's katana and jumped off the arm. Raising the katana above her head, she swung down on the left arm which held the gun. The gun was sliced clean off.

The turtles watched in awe at the action. They had never seen anything like that. Leo felt butterflies in his stomach, his face getting a little warm for a turtle. They didn't dwell on it further as more Kraang came flooding in.

As the turtles kept the Kraang busy, Karai continued to fight the mech. She had gotten behind it and started climbing again. She had slipped a few times but she managed to get up to its shoulders. She flipped the katana in her hand and dug it into the head of the mech, effectively putting it out of commission. The robot fell to the ground and crushed a few Kraang.

To say the turtles were amazed was an understatement. Karai had beaten a giant Kraang mech all by herself, no help needed.

"Wow," Leo said as Karai walked up to him.

"Never underestimate me, kame," Karai smirked. Their tiny victory was put to an end as more Kraang kept swarming in.

" _Donnie! You guys gotta get out of there! There's too many of them for you to fight!_ " April warned the purple turtle. Her screen was overrun with yellow dots.

"Guys! What do we-" Mikey was suddenly hit in his plastron by one of the Kraang. The blow knocking him unconscious.

"Mikey!" His brothers called out.

Raph came to his side grabbed him, putting over his back, holding his arms from slipping off.

"Leo! We need an exit!" Raph told him.

"I know!" Leo replied, stressed over his situation.

"I will hold them off for you!" Karai said to him.

"What?!"

"Go get your brother to safety! I will hold them off!" Karai insisted.

"But Karai…" Leo tried to protest but his brothers wouldn't let him.

"Leo! Come on!" Raph yelled at him. Raph and Don started making their way out of the building. Leo turned to face Karai.

"Go."

Leo followed his brothers out of the building, leaving Karai to fend for herself.

Karai was able to take on mostly every Kraang that came at her but soon her exhaustion came to weigh down on her. Not looking, she was shot by a tranquilizer dart. She fell unconscious on the floor, Leo's katana slipping from her hand.

The Kraang stood around her as an unknown figure appeared. She glanced down at the kunoichi and smiled cynically.

"Excellent."

* * *

Saki continued to meditate in the dojo, breathing in the wood smell of the incense sticks burning in their ashtray.

Tang Shen, who was the cloaked figure, had sneaked up behind Saki, her katana drawn out and aimed slightly above his head.

She had managed to infiltrate Foot Headquarters without being noticed by any of the soldiers or even by Saki himself. She had always been excellent at stealth and her infiltration only proves it further. She hadn't imagined getting this far but here she was, right behind the man that had destroyed her family. The one who had destroyed everything.

She adjusted her grip on the handle of the katana, holding it tighter and lifting it higher until her sword was above her head. She took in a couple of breaths before she swung down her sword.

But no such action happened. Something on the kamidana had caught her eyes. The photograph.

She glared at the photograph, the image of the man and woman, the image of her husband and herself, the image of what she once was.

She was stunned to find such a thing with Saki. How dare he have such an image of the people he had killed?! She was filled with more anger than what she came with. She tightened her muscles and without any hesitation, she swung her blade down.

But her blade did not hit its target.

"Nani?!"

Saki had captured the blade in his hands before it had made contact with his head. Shen was taken back by this but collected her mind and kicked his back, having Saki be lunged forward onto the ground.

He turned around to get up but was pushed back down once more, Tang Shen putting her foot down on his chest. Saki ceased his struggle to get her off once Shen had pointed her blade at his throat.

"W-Who are you?!" Saki demanded.

"Someone who will bring back honor to their family," Shen responded.

She pushed her sword down to meet Saki's throat but without a second thought, he grabbed the blade with his bare hands, cuts developing on his fingers, blood dripping and staining the blade.

"You will not hurt my family ever again!" She yelled, her voice cracking at the raw emotion coming forth from her statement.

"S-Shen?"

Shen froze on the spot, ceasing her attempts to harm Saki.

How?! How did he know it was her?!

Saki used this opportunity and kicked Shen back away from him. Shen was sent flying into one of the columns of the room but she quickly recovered, her shell absorbing the impact of the crash.

Both stood up from the ground and were preparing for an attack until suddenly, the building started to shake.

"Sensei!" Someone called out from outside the room. The sounds of footsteps could be heard getting louder.

Shen took out a smoke bomb from her pocket and threw it on the floor, the bomb exploding its white powder all around the room.

Saki coughed and blew the smoke away with his hand only to find Shen had already disappeared. He stood in the room baffled at what had just occurred, blood still dripping from the cuts on his hands. He was not sure what to think at the moment nor did he take notice of the building trembling around him. He was too stunned at the ninja's presence. While most of his mind was blank, there was one thought in his mind he could not get rid of.

"Shen...?"

* * *

Opening the manhole cover, Tang Shen entered into the sewers, landing in a small puddle of sewage. She pulled back her hood, slipped her scarf down, and leaned against the brick wall. She let herself rest for a few moments, regaining her breath.

Clenching her fists until they turned white, she turned around and punched the brick wall behind her, tiny chunks landing on the ground or digging into her skin as her knuckles bled from the impact.

She felt ashamed. She was so close to dealing Saki his death but she had let herself become distracted by his words, costing her her chance for revenge. But she did not sulk on it for long, though, she would have a new chance to get at him but that won't be for a long while. She knew Saki too well, he would prepare for another attack like that once more.

But in the meantime, she will wait for another opportunity to come. She began making her way back to the lair.

* * *

The turtles had arrived home, Leonardo stepping on the gas pedal harder than usual to get home as fast as possible. Donatello had done an emergency patch job on Mikey's wound to prevent more loss of blood and infection. It was all he could've done until they had gotten back to the lair.

They stepped out of the van and into Don's lab where the garage was connected too.

"Set him down gently," Donnie directed at Raphael who was carrying Mikey to the exam table. "April, go get my med kit, second shelf."

"I could've... walked... y' know," Mikey argued as he sat on the table.

"You would've fallen. You want to have your head busted too?" Raph replied.

"No..." Mikey muttered.

"Good, now lay down and let Donnie fix you up," Raph told him as he pushed down the younger turtle onto his back.

"Thanks, April," Donnie grabbed the medkit April had brought him and opened it. Grabbing a couple of wipes and the hydrogen peroxide, he removed the makeshift gauze off of Mikey's wound and rubbed the peroxide onto it.

"Ah! It stings!" Mikey yelped in discomfort.

Suddenly, the lab's door opened. Everyone turned around to find Tang Shen coming into the room, a worried look on her face when she saw what was going on.

"What happened?" She asked as she came to be at Mikey's side, stroking his head with her left hand.

"Mikey got shot by a Kraang. Luckily the wound isn't too deep so he should heal within a week." Donnie explained to his mother as he began to glue on several clips at the edges of the cut and clipping them together to hold the plastron in place.

"I'm okay, mom. Really." Mikey reassured her as he tensed by the forced movement of his shell.

"I know you are." She said.

While Donnie continued his work, Leonardo decided to leave the lab, heading into the living room and taking a seat on the recliner. He rubbed his face with his hands and gave a hard sigh.

Raphael came out of the lab as well and walked to sit on the armrest of the recliner Leo was sitting in.

"You're thinking about her aren't you?" The red turtle said.

"I shouldn't have left her alone. I should've been there to help her take down those Kraang." Leo replied.

"You're worrying too much. You saw how she was able to take down that big dude all on her own. What will more kraang do to her?" Raph reasoned. Leo sighed at his remark. It was true, she could take them but would she last?

Raph planted a hand on his brother's shoulder, "I may not trust her but I gotta admit, she's got skill. She'll make it out of there. Trust me."

The corners of Leo's mouth curved up, "Thanks Raph."

"Anything for you, bro." Raph patted his shoulder before getting up and entering the lab once more, leaving Leo to sulk in his thoughts.

* * *

Alarms blared throughout the building. The lights flashing red every few seconds. The building shook, parts of the ceiling began falling apart.

"What is happening?!" Cheng asked, confused about the sudden vibrations. An earthquake in New York is possible but highly unlikely.

"Soldiers! Come in! What is happening?!" Saki questioned his soldiers through his communicator.

"Something's broke into the building! I-It's destroying everything and its heading straight-" The line was cut off, only static came through the communicator. Saki grabbed his gauntlet and put it on his arm and waited for the intruder.

"Get behind me, Cheng," Saki said. Cheng did what he was told and stood behind his master.

Suddenly, the doors were blasted open to reveal a giant robot accompanied by other smaller robots who had guns aimed at Saki.

"Good evening, Oroku Saki." The giant robot said.

Saki pointed his gauntlet towards the robot, "Who are you?!"

"I am Commander Kraang of Dimension X and I have come to propose an alliance with you." Commander Kraang introduced himself, putting a hand on his chest.

"You think I would align myself with someone of the likes of you?! Someone who had captured my men?! To break in here like you own this building?!"

"I am deeply sorry about that but I had to make sure I had your full attention." Kraang apologized before gesturing his soldiers.

A robot brought forth Karai, her wrists restrained and her mouth covered my a muzzle.

"Karai! Let her go!" Saki demanded furiously.

"I will let her go, once after you hear me out, or I kill your daughter right where she stands," Kraang says, another robot pointing its gun next Karai's head.

Saki was backed up to a corner, his body tensing and his hands turning into fists. He knew he couldn't afford any harm to come down to her daughter but he had no other choice. He relaxed his hands and exhaled.

"Fine… Speak." Saki said.

"Glad we can come to our senses. As I said before, I am commander Kraang of Dimension X. I come from an alien race named the Utroms and have come to conquer the Earth. You and I have a common enemy in this city, four mutant turtles if I'm correct." He explained.

"Yes, those turtles have caused us a bit of trouble," Saki confirmed.

"Those turtles have compromised many of our plans and have become a threat to our conquest. I have witnessed how well you fight and know you can get rid of those turtles." Krang further explained, adding in some praise to convince the leader of the foot.

"So I propose this alliance. I will supply you with our technology to do as you please and in return, you do everything you can with that technology to kill those turtles." Kraang proposed.

"And what do we get for getting rid of the turtles?" Saki questioned him.

"You will be spared from my conquest, have your place to continue to live while I conquer this mudball of a planet," Kraang answered.

"What do you say, Saki? Do we have ourselves a deal?"

"Saki… do not side with them. Do not." Cheng whispered his master. Something inside him knew that siding with the Kraang was a bad idea.

"If I say yes, will you give me back my daughter?" Saki asked, fully ignoring Cheng's words.

"Of course."

"Saki!" Cheng retorted but there was no way of getting through to Saki. His daughter meant the world to him and he would be damned if he lost her.

"I accept," Saki said, much to the dismay of Cheng and to the joy of Kraang.

"Good."

Kraang nodded to his soldiers, taking off the restraints off of Karai. She collapsed to her knees, finally able to rest form her exhaustion. Saki took off his gauntlet, threw it to the floor, and ran to his daughter, kneeling to embrace her.

"I will deliver my resources to your scientists in due time. And do not fail me, Saki or I won't spare you once the time comes." Kraang told him before taking his leave of the building.

Kraang is on his way back to his hideout, he opens up his communication line that is attached to his arm.

"Yes, commander Kraang?" A voice spoke from the other line.

"I want you to prepare something special for a new specimen that I have my eye on," Kraang said.

"Consider it done, sir. What specimen will it be?" The voice responded.

"The Shredder's daughter, Karai."

* * *

Saki stood in front of the window that looked out to the view of the city. He had Karai by side, afraid of letting her go after what had happened.

"I cannot believe you Saki!" Cheng yelled out furiously.

"Believe what?" Saki asked, a rather bit confused.

"Why did you side with them?!" Cheng questioned his actions, wanting answers.

"Cheng is right, why did you do it?" Karai too wanted answers.

"I did it for you," Saki answered as he turned to his daughter.

"I am nothing more than a soldier. I can be replaced." Karai told him, bowing her head down.

"You are my daughter! No one can replace that." Saki retorted.

"I do not trust them Saki, I sense a dark presence within them," Cheng warned him to which Saki agreed.

"Neither do I but if they are willing to give us their technology to get rid of those turtles, then perhaps that could benefit us in the future. Allowing us to defeat our other enemies with more ease." Saki argued.

"But we have never needed the use of such technology! The foot has never needed help from others! Ever!" Cheng retorted.

"I am the sensei! I am the one who decides what to do with this clan! They are of some use to us! They can help us defeat our enemies faster." Saki snapped. He was having enough of this conversation.

"But what if they decide to betray us?" Karai asked.

"Do not worry, I will make sure to have a contingency plan," Saki responded, reassuring his daughter.

"Your father would have never allowed this," Cheng said.

"I am not my father."

"Then he would have been ashamed."

Cheng turns to leave to his sleeping quarters, he's had enough of Saki disobeying him.

"Do not listen to him." Karai comforted her father who only sighed.

"I know… I know..."


	2. Second Round

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Kraang and the Foot Clan working together, Commander Kraang offers a batch of Foot Ninja Androids. Saki puts both his elite guards to take them out for a test run in hopes of destroying the turtles.

In a warehouse near the docks, far away from the inner city, the Foot had arrived expecting a shipment from the pink, robotic aliens. In front of them stood multiple large wooden crates, multiple Kraang robots guarding it while Shredder, Karai, Cheng, Ocho, Honshu, and the rest of the foot standing on the other side of the building.

One of the robots came forth with a communicator in its hands and pressed a button, activating it, the device projecting an image of Commander Kraang in front of Saki. The large alien stood firmly with his chest puffed out and arms held behind his back.

"Is this the shipment I was promised?" Saki started, straight to the point.

"Of course! What kind of partner would I be if I didn't hold up my end of the bargain?!" Kraang confirmed. He gestured his soldiers to open the crates. The robots grabbed a couple of crowbars and tore the lid off the crates, revealing the contents inside. Robots, Foot robots.

"Tada!" Kraang exclaimed, his hand extended to the crate and shaking his hands, jazz hand style.

"What are these?" Saki questioned the pink alien as he observed the robots.

"You could say they are your new ninja army. They are designed to be your perfect soldiers, with their speed, agility, and strength greatly increased than any ordinary human soldier." Kraang explained. "They are currently ready for deployment."

"Ocho! Honshu!" Saki called out.

Both elite soldiers stepped forth and bowed before their master. "Yes, sensei?" They said in unison.

"Fight these robots. I wish to see how well they fare." He ordered.

"Hai, sensei!" They responded as both faced three robots that walked out of the crate into the center of the building.

Taking the first move, Ocho swung at the machine with his odachi. To his shock, the robot managed to dodge his blade, using this opportunity to punch Ocho away and skidding across the concrete floor.

Honshu came in to take his turn as he swung his katana at the machines. Not faltering when they dodged his attacks, he fared far better than his counterpart who was just regaining his focus and participated back in the fight, a wave of newfound anger swelled inside him.

While both elites were formidable ninjas, the robots fared far better than they had imagined. Each attack was dodged and blocked with such ease and precision. They took both elites down, knocking them down to the ground.

"Yame!" Shredder ordered, the robots stopping at his command.

To say he was impressed was an understatement, even Karai was surprised by their skill, considering she had her fair share of experience with fighting Kraang's soldiers. They were pleased with what Kraang had brought them, Saki was looking forward to using them. While they were there impressed, Cheng merely stood in disdain at the alien.

Since the alien had infiltrated their home, he did not trust him and found his methods disgraceful and the fact that Saki was accepting his help made him appalled. The Foot Clan was becoming weak and losing their honor they once were known for.

"Impressive," Saki told the authoritarian alien.

"Why thank you," Kraang responded smugly. "Oh! And before I forget, I have a special delivery for you and you only." He pointed to the specially labeled crate at the end of the row of crates. "I do hope you like what I made for you. Made with the finest metal of Utrominum to be unpenetrable."

Saki ordered his men to open the crate, using the crowbars to lift the lid and reveal the contents inside. His eyes widened at the sight of what was inside. A new set of armor, looking more sleek and menacing than the one he has on currently. He wasn't sure what to say but new the gesture could not go unnoticed. He turned back to the hologram, "Thank you."

"I knew you would love it! Anyway, I have to get going, planets won't invade themselves you know! Ciao!" The hologram shut off as the Kraang departed.

Saki turned back to his men who were muffling their laughs at the sight of his two elites have had their butts kicked by a bunch of machines.

"Load these crates into the trucks and head back to base!" He ordered and in a snap of a finger the laughing ceased and his soldiers were already lifting the crates to the trucks waiting outside.

The sound of a cane clanking against the concrete floor alerted Saki of Cheng's incoming presence. He turned to find the elderly man standing beside him his a very disapproving expression.

"It seems regular manpower isn't enough now, is it?"

"I understand your disapproval but you must realize that these robots will help us take over this city faster than we expected with regular men. Isn't that what we want?" Saki explained.

Cheng merely grumbled as he started walking out of the warehouse, his cane sounding the entire building.

Karai came up to her father and laid her hand on top of his shoulder, leaning part of her weight on it. "Sometimes you can't teach old dogs new tricks."

"Heh, you're certainly right about that." Saki chuckled.

"So, when are you going to use them?" Karai asked, shifting the conversation as she knocked her finger on the metal chest plate of the droids.

"I'm thinking of bringing them to our next operation." He answered.

"The Savante will definitely be in for a surprise, hehe." Karai grinned.

"They'll definitely be more useful than the sorry excuse of soldiers that we have," Ocho complained as he and Honshu came over to the small family.

Saki rolled his eyes while Karai chuckled at the notion, "And how do you think they'll be better?"

"I don't know. They can capture the turtles or whatever the like." Ocho replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea Ocho. Splitting up a group to go and search for the turtles while we handled other business." Saki said.

"Why thank you sensei." He replied pridefully, holding his head high.

"You and Honshu will lead a group and search for the turtles," Saki stated.

"What...?"

"Pfft!" Both elite and chunin muffled their laughter at the expression on Ocho's face.

"You two will find the turtles while the rest of us take care of business with the Savante. I'm sure you can handle that, can you?"

"H-Hai... sensei."

"Excellent. Now go and see how the rest are doing."

"Hai."

Both elites exited the warehouse as they went to oversee the soldiers' progress.

"You are cruel," Karai told her father who took pride in the notion.

"I try."

* * *

The city of New York was bustling more than ever tonight, after long heavy rains, the sky's cleared up and people began flooding into the streets once more. The same went for the turtles.

They were at an ice rink with their friend Casey Jones. For once it wasn't very crowded which allowed Casey and Raphael to but their hockey skills to the test.

Casey had the puck in his grasp, skiing across the rink towards his goal with Raphael following close behind him.

"Is that the best you can do?!" Casey teased him, turning his head and giving a sly grin to the red turtle.

"We'll see about that, Hockey boy!" Raphael bantered back as he got ahead of Casey and swerved around him, stealing the puck and heading straight towards his own goal on the other side of the rink.

"Getting feisty aren't we, nightwatcher!" Casey taunted as he chuckled under his breath.

The Nightwatcher used to be an alter ego for Raphael during their early days of being vigilantes a few years back. Raphael had dropped it once he figured it wasn't necessary to have an alter ego.

"You still on that?! C'mon, I let that thing go years ago!" Raphael said back as he neared his goal post getting his stick ready to hit the puck into the net.

Meanwhile, over on the bleachers, Leonardo and Michelangelo sat watching the two hotheads play against each other, keeping track of the score and eating everything they had at the concessions. Mikey was already on his fourth hot dog and second large drink that night.

"Haha! Gotcha!" Casey exclaimed.

Before Raphael could make a goal, Casey steals the puck away and skates as fast as he could to his goal. He readied his stick and shoots the puck into the goal, earning himself another point.

"Oh yeah! Another win for Casey Jones!" Casey exclaimed in triumph, pumping his fist in the air with the stick in hand. He turns around to face the other two turtles, "How many does that make?!"

"12 - 5!" Mikey stated through a mouth full of hotdog.

"Eat it, Raph! You owe me a pizza!" Casey exclaimed to the red turtle.

"Damn! Yo Mike! Wanna go a few rounds against him?!" Raph asked his younger brother as he exited the rink.

"Sure!" The orange turtle got up from his spot on the bleachers and headed down to the rink where he grabbed Raph's hockey stick and entered the rink. Raphael took a seat right next to Leo who was finishing up his second hot dog.

"Yo, where's Don?" Casey asked, just noticing the purple turtles wasn't with his brothers.

"He's on a date with April," Leo answered.

"Couldn't he just bring her here on a date?" Casey said to him, starting another game of hockey with the orange turtle.

"Watching you play hockey wouldn't be considered 'romantic.'" Raph responded as he took a bite out of the pretzel that Leo had gotten.

"That's too bad. They're missing me owning you guys at hockey."

* * *

On the other side of the city, Donnie and April were having their date. It was a simple hangout at the new ice cream shop near downtown that people had been saying had the best ice cream ever. So, curious, both decided to try it out. And, oh boy, did it not disappoint.

Both human and turtle sat on the high table next to the window looking out to the street. April took another spoonful of her cookies and cream and savored the flavor. The texture was just right, not chewy but also but too milky. She dipped her spoon again and took another mouthful. Opposite of her sat Donnie who took another spoonful of his coffee ice cream. It was the perfect concoction of both cream and coffee.

They sat there, enjoying their dessert as they made small talk and caught up on each other.

"So, how'd the exams go?" Donnie asked curiously.

"For the most part, I passed. As to what I got... let's just say they weren't exactly what you would call... 4.0 worthy." April answered.

"Haha! Were they really that bad?" Donnie chuckled, "It's your fault for taking calculus. Do you even need it to graduate?"

"First, no. Second, you try figuring out the value of C from an antiderivative that has a very nasty natural log in it!" She pointed her spoon at him.

April was currently in college attending NYU and majoring in journalism, thanks to a certain someone who helped her get such an outstanding score on the ACT. Mid-semester finals recently happened and it seems like April had a stressful week of finals. Luckily for her, she was off for the next two weeks for spring break.

"You know I can help you study, right?" Donnie reminded her.

"You're more likely to do the homework yourself than actually help me." April accused him.

"True."

"And speaking of school, you should really think about going," she told him.

Donnie's faced soured at the mention of him going to school. While it is something he's thought about, certain things have kept him from actually wanting to go. "C'mon. You know I don't need a piece of paper to tell me that I'm smart."

"It's not about being smart. It's about doing something with your life or doing something for others' lives. Do you really think you'll spend the rest of your life living in the sewers and beating up bad guys?"

"Yes." He answered nonchalantly as he scraped the last bits of his melted dessert. "You didn't want to go so why are you pressuring me to go?"

"While true, I'm going because I want to do something with my life. And in my case, I can do a lot of things with a journalism degree." She argued. "You have so much potential that I'd be a waste if you don't go. You can't keep fighting bad guys for the rest of your life."

"Why not? That's basically what my grandparents did." He claimed, thinking about what his entire family lineage did for centuries.

April sighed in defeat, "Would you at least think about it?"

Donnie averted his gaze down to his now empty cup of ice cream. He knew this wouldn't be the last time she would bring this up. If only she could understand why he can't go.

Without taking his eyes off of the red spoon in his hand, he responded. "I'll... think about it."

That seemed to satisfy April enough to let go of the subject.

They threw away their empty cups before exiting the shop, a depressing vibe washing over them as they walked through the human filled streets of downtown in awkward silence.

* * *

On another side of the city, there was mayhem spurring about within one of the most infamous crime organizations in New York. Screams of men and the banging sound of firearms filled the entire building which was currently being infiltrated by an uninvited guest.

"Shoot those bastards down!" One man shouted as he fired his rifle at the various men dressed in black. They were like nothing they've ever seen. They moved so fast you could barely see them until they were ready for the kill. One by one, every single man with a gun fell to the ground as the imposing force fought their way further inside the building.

Up on top of the highest floor, a man dressed in metal armor fought his foes with such strength and power that would make any man tremble at the sight. He sliced through another man before going towards his target who was cowardly hiding underneath his desk in his office, a rifle in his hand, waiting for the man to burst into the room for him to shoot down.

Suddenly, the door burst open, the wooden board becoming unhinged from the wall and splintering onto the floor, pieces of drywall lay on the floor.

Using his opportunity, the man behind the desk got up and fired his rifle at the intruder, emptying his entire round as the heat from the shots engulfing the room. The man stood silently as he waited for the dust to settle.

Standing in the middle of the room, stood the metal man, standing firmly and unaffected by the bullets. Not even his armor was dented, only scuffed.

" _ Q-Quale cosa...? _ "

To say the man was terrified was an understatement. He felt his soul leave his body as he dropped his rifle to the ground. He stood there petrified as the metal man inched closer to him. He grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and gazed down at the old fat man in his clutch.

" _ Omae wa mou shindeiru... _ "

" _ P-Per favore... n-non uccidermi! _ "

With no hesitation, the larger man impaled his blades into the body of the fat man. He retracted his arm before letting go of the man's shirt, dropping his on top of his desk as he bled out.

The metal man merely scoffed before turning to leave the scene to regroup with his fellow soldiers who had done such a marvelous job of taking care of the rest.

He came to his daughter who had just pulled her katana out of the body of another poor man who laid dead on the carpeted floor of the hall. She pulled down her mouth plate, hanging it around her belt before taking a piece of cloth and started wiping off the blood coating her blade.

"Seems like Kraang kept true to his words. These robots definitely came in handy. We may have to lay off some soldiers because of this." Karai stated.

"It seems that way," Saki responded.

"And it seems you've decided to have a change in wardrobe. Liking the new outfit he made for you?" Karai pointed to the armor her father wore with her sword before going back to wiping.

"While I kept the helmet the same, I must say I am impressed with this. The old fool fired an entire round at me and not even a single dent." Saki boasted as he lifted his cloak to reveal his barely scuffed armor.

"Wow." Karai gazed impressed, sheathing her sword back into its scabbard.

"How do you think Ocho and Honshu are doing playing 'hunt the turtles?'" Karai asked him.

"To be honest, I know for a fact that Ocho is not liking his little assignment one bit. Hehe." Both chuckled at the thought before heading down to the rest of his soldiers.

* * *

The night grew quiet, it was dark and the moon was high in the sky. Ocho and Honshu made their through the rooftops of the city in search of the mutant turtles. The robots that the Kraang had given them were silently following close behind, keeping their distance and actively scanning the areas for any sign of the turtles.

"Argh! I can't believe Master Shredder made us search for the turtles like this!" Ocho complained, perching himself from the edge of the roof, peering down to the streets below. "Hopefully we can find them quickly. I don't want to spend any more time than we have too. I'm getting exhausted just jumping across from roof to roof."

Honshu merely shook his head. "How are you an elite?" He mumbled under his breath at Ocho's comment.

"What was that?" Ocho turned his head to Honshu.

"Just... how are you part of the foot? You are arrogant, lazy and always whining whenever we have a mission." Honshu complained to him.

"Does that matter? I get our missions done." Ocho responded, not at all phased by his words.

"Maybe so."

Both elite soldiers stayed silent, not sure on how to continue their conversation.

"Though I do wonder, how did you become part of the foot?" Honshu asked him. He was actually quite curious. For all the time he had known Ocho, he knew very little of the elite. And so did Ocho with Honshu.

"You want to know?" Ocho asked him.

"If you are willing to tell," Honshu responded.

"Many years ago, I was a police officer with a loving wife. She was my life, my everything. One night, I was chasing a couple of muggers down the subway when they took out a gun and made fired. I never felt the bullet… my wife did. She had been waiting for me before I had chased down those muggers. The impact knocked her onto an upcoming subway train. I wanted vengeance and set to investigate who had murdered my wife. Then the case went cold a year after. I furious and wanted to continue the search but I was forbidden from doing it. I decided to quit and join the Foot Clan. I trained and trained every day, sharpening my skills. Once I was ready, I found the killer. Using all that I had learned, I ended his life the same way he did with my wife. That was when I had met Saki. He had been observing me for some time and saw my potential. Next thing I knew, I become one of his elites."

"Story of revenge," Honshu commented,

"What about you? How did you get into the foot?" Ocho asked him.

Honshu stayed silent, contemplating on whether or not he should tell his story. He decided against it, their mission was first, they had already wasted enough time.

"That is a story for another time. Hurry, we must find the turtles." Honshu told him before continuing on his search.

"One of these days I'll find out what you're hiding," Ocho said before standing and following Honshu.

* * *

Donnie and April walked through the streets of downtown to make their way to April's apartment. They stayed silent over their little discussion back at the ice cream shop. April tried to get Donnie to speak, creating small talk about recent and unimportant things but Donnie was not budging. April wanted to say something she didn't want to seem so pushy so she kept silent unknowing what the purple turtle is going through.

A lady with her child walked passed the couple and as she passed she grabbed her kid and pulled her tighter to her. Other walkers gave a stink face at them. Even mumbles of disgust and displeasure made their way into Donnie's ears. He's heard them all before, the comments, the stares. All of it was nothing new.

While being equals, there is still a certain stigma, prejudice, discrimination towards mutants. While most people have grown used to them, there are still those who... you already know. Mutants are looked down upon, are belittled, and are often left to rot on their own.

This. This was the real reason why Donnie didn't seek out a future. For as much as he wants too, the sheer fact he is a mutant won't let him. As a mutant, he won't get far and even if he does defy the odds he'll only be a footnote.

And that's exactly what April doesn't see. The difference between how they view the world is drastic and probably something that she can't fully comprehend.

Donnie merely picked up the pace, walking faster just to get away from the hatred he's learned to shove away.

* * *

A rooftop away, Ocho and Honshu stopped to scope out the area. Perched on the edge of the rooftop, Ocho spotted Donnie and April taking the corner of the street.

"I spotted a turtle." He said to Honshu. "Too bad it's only one. I was hoping for all four."

"I'm sure they are not far," Honshu said. "They will come to his aid."

"Well then. Let's get this over with."

With Foot robots behind them, both elites led the way down towards the couple. Faint steps and moving shadows were the only things that alerted Donnie of their presence. Something was up.

Donatello stops in his tracks, extending his arm out to make April stop as well. He turns his head and scans the street.

"What's wrong, D?" April asked.

"We're being followed," Donnie says, taking out his staff from his back pocket. He clicked a button and it extended to its full length.

"Stay behind me." He brings April behind him in an attempt to protect her. While she was more than capable of defending herself, courtesy of Tang Shen teaching her a bit of ninjutsu, she did not have her naginata with her at the moment.

The street remained silent. It was just the two of them. Donnie waited, listening to the faint sounds coming from the distance.

Suddenly Foot ninja jumped from the roofs to the street, surrounding the purple turtle, aiming his staff at his opponents. As Donnie observed them, he noticed they weren't human but instead robots.

"Foot… robots?" Donnie stated confused.

"Hello, turtle!"

Donnie and April looked over to the owner of the voice, Ocho, who was perched on the edge of the roof. Ocho and Honshu jumped down to the ground.

"Oh, shit this is bad…" Donnie said to himself as he brought April closer to him.

"Donnie, are those the elite soldiers you told me about?" April questioned him.

"Yeah."

"Impressed with our new toys? Our new partner gave us these not too long ago. Why you may ask? Well, let's just say it's so we can get rid of you and your other nuisance brothers." Ocho exclaimed.

"I have to admit, they do look rather impressive but are they able to fight like a real ninja?" Donnie responded.

"You're right. Let's test that out shall we." Ocho said maniacally. He raised his arm and pointed at the turtle.

"Foot! Attack!"

The robots charged the purple turtle, weapons in hand and ready to strike.

Donatello blocks each attack with his staff and returns the blows, managing to keep the robots a safe distance between him and April.

"These guys are tough!" Donnie points out, blocking another attack only to be left open and hit by a robot behind him. He begins to be swarmed by more robots.

"Donnie!" April yells out.

Her eyes scan the area for anything she could use to help Donnie, without her naginata she wasn't much help in outright raw strength. She needed something she could use, something that could be used as a weapon. She spotted a crowbar laying next to a trash can. She grabbed it and swung it at one of the robots that were coming up behind Donnie. The crowbar did nothing and broke on impact. The robot turned around and grabbed her arm and tossed the crowbar to the side.

"April!" Donnie screamed as he saw the robot lift April off the ground by her neck.

She kicked and punched the robot to free herself her attempts were futile. The robot's grip grew tighter, cutting off more and more of April's oxygen supply.

Donnie gathers his last bits of strength and gets himself free from the swarm of robots, pushing and kicking them out of his way. He runs towards April and attacks the robot holding her, bashing the head clean off. April is let go and drops to the floor, breathing in large amounts of air, restoring her oxygen supply.

"T-Thanks… dee." April says in between pants, holding her throat.

"You need to get out of here!" Donnie told her as he lifts her up from the ground.

"What?!"

"Go! Get out of here!" Donnie repeated, attacking another robot.

"I'm not leaving you!" April resisted.

"Please! Just go! Go now!" Donnie persisted as he began becoming engulfed by the robots.

"Go!"

Although she feels pain leaving him here, April nods before sprinting away from the scene.

"Oh, look. The girl is running away." Ocho said to Honshu.

"Foot! Go get her!" Honshu ordered, a couple of robots chasing after her.

"Why are you going after her?!" Ocho asked him. "She's nothing more than a girl!"

"She will bring the turtles to us." Honshu explained. "She has seen too much already, she is a risk to us. We cannot let her go that easily."

Ocho didn't always approve of Honshu's actions but knew better not to argue with him, Honshu would snitch about that to their master. Unlike him, he would never use innocents to get what he wants.

* * *

As April escapes from the robots, running down the empty streets, she gets out her phone and starts contacting the turtles. She brings her phone to her ear and awaits their response.

"Oh please pick up!"

The turtles were just leaving the ice rink when Leonardo got a call, his phone vibrating in the pocket of his jacket. He takes it out and sees the call is from April.

"Who's calling you?" Mikey asks his eldest brother.

"April." Leo responded before taking the call, "Yeah, April?"

" _ Leo! Oh thank god, you answered!" _ April said out of breath. The sound of her voice worried the blue ninja.

"Is everything okay?" Leo asked her worryingly.

" _ Ocho and ugh... what's his name... Honshu! They ambushed me and Donnie with these Foot robots! They've got Donnie!" _ April explains as she rounds a corner. When she makes her turn, she spots several robots chasing after her. " _ And they're chasing after me!" _

"Where are you guys?!" Leo asks.

_ "Near downtown! You need to hurry guys! I don't how long I'll be able to evade-" _ The line was caught off.

"April? April!" Leo called out but got no response.

"What happened?!" Casey asked him, visibly worried about his friends.

"Ocho and Honshu got Donnie and April! They said they were near downtown! Come on, we don't have much time!" Leo told them before making his way towards their location. The others quickly followed suit.

* * *

Back to the Foot Elites, they had just finished tying up both April and Donnie together on top of a rooftop with a water tower. Their hands were tied behind their back and the tightness of the rope made it impossible to get free. Both captives had their backs against each other.

"An interesting date, huh?" April said to the purple turtle.

"You think?" Donnie responds coldly. He was all bruised up from his face down to his legs. The robots had been too much for him to handle alone. April had scrapes on both her knees and small bruises forming on her nose as it bled.

The purple turtle turned to face Ocho who was playing around with his staff, spinning it around in hands. Said elite turns and squats down before the turtle.

"Impressive staff, turtle. Mind if I have it?" Ocho grinned at him.

"In your dreams." Donnie responded coldly, certainly not in the mood for any games.

"Quit fooling around, Ocho! We need to keep watch for the other turtles." Honshu told him as he pulled him up to stand. Ocho pouted and dropped the staff beside Donatello.

A couple of roofs away, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Casey were watching Ocho and Honshu, trying to devise a plan to rescue April and Donnie.

"Whatcha see?" Raph asks his leader.

"They got them tied up next to one of the legs of that water tower. Ocho and Honshu are standing close to them while the robots surround the roofs, except the roof behind the tower." Leo explained.

"So what's the plan?"

"You go in and get April and Donnie free from behind the tower while the rest of us keep Ocho and Honshu distracted." Leo explained. "Once you set them free, the rest of you guys will keep Ocho and Honshu busy while I cut down the water tower."

"You sure this could work?" Casey doubted him.

"It'll work. Now, let's go."

The turtles went in after April and Donnie. Raphael took the alleyway leading up to the back of the building while the rest got to the roof on the other side, meeting face to face with the elite soldiers.

"Look who finally showed up! Welcome turtles!" Ocho greeted them.

As the group came closer to the ninja's, Foot robots came to deter them from moving any closer.

"Impressed? These are our new toys." Ocho explained. As he viewed the group he noticed something was off. There was a missing turtle. "Where is the red one?"

Raphael came up from behind the water tower, making his way over to April and Donnie who had noticed him, keeping quiet to avoid blowing his cover.

"Don't worry about him, he's coming." Leo said, trying to give Raphael time to free Don and April. He came up to them and got out a tanto Leo had given him and started cutting the rope.

"I guess having one turtle loose wouldn't be so bad. Would it, Honshu?" Ocho asked his partner who only nodded back.

"No, it wouldn't."

Don and April had gotten free from the rope, rubbing their wrists from the restraints. Donnie stood up and grabbed his staff. Raphael whispered the plan to Donatello and understood what to do. They guided April away from the water tower as they prepared for Leo's signal.

Leo took out his other katana in his hand and bent his knees, "You think you guys can take us down? Well, let's see."

Leo charged at the elites with everyone following behind. Mikey and Casey took care of the robots while Donnie and Raph took Ocho and Honshu by surprise from behind. Leo managed his way through the crowd before jabbing his swords into the water tower, tearing out the wood and letting the water flow free onto the roof. The robots began short-circuiting as they were splash with the water.

"No!" Honshu yelled out in anger.

The flowing water stops and the turtles begin surrounding the elites.

"Looks like you can't use your toys anymore." Donnie said with a grin.

Suddenly, the robots start to circuit back to life, picking themselves up from the wet floor.

"Who said we can't use them? Foot! Attack!"

The robots began attacking the turtles, though they didn't hit as hard as before thanks to the water messing up a few of their circuits.

Both elite soldiers stood away from the battle, enjoying the sight of the turtles struggling against their robots.

"There has to be a way to shut these guys down!" Leo said as he took down another robot only to be jumped by one behind him.

As the battle grew longer, Donatello started popping ideas into his head, analyzing which one would work best. He smashed a robot's head, exposing the wiring and motherboard of the machine. He observed the machinery and discovered it was connected to the other robots in a cyber link. It was their ticket to victory.

"Guys!" He called out, gaining the attention of the others. "The robots are all linked! If I can rewire one of them I could get the others to stop!"

"Then what are you waiting for?!" Mikey asked him as he kicked a robot off the roof.

"I'm gonna need time!" Donnie exclaimed to them.

"We'll give you time!" Raph responded as he took down multiple robots.

Donnie picked up the destroyed robot and got himself to work taking out his phone to connect to the machine. He turned his head to find April struggling to fight with just a wooden back Casey had given her from his duffle bag.

"April!" He called her over.

"Yeah, D?" April asked him.

Donnie unsheathed his staff from its holster and handed it to April.

"It's better than an old bat." He said to her. April smiled before tossing the bat away and grabbing the staff.

"Thanks, D." She thanked him before heading straight back into battle, attacking one robot at a time.

The turtles fought while Donnie rewired the robot. More and more robots came swarming into the scene. The turtles began becoming restless, they didn't know how long they could last.

"Hurry up, Donnie!" Raph rushed his purple brother who didn't seem to appreciate it.

"I'm hurrying!" He responded frustratingly.

He continued to recode the machine, hurrying himself to finish but not going too fast to mess up the code. He almost finished just a few more lines of code.

"Donnie!" His brothers called out to him as their bodies reached their limit. They couldn't go on any longer.

"Done!" Donnie exclaimed to his brothers.

After a few moments, the robots stopped attacking, being frozen in place.

"What?!" Honshu shouted in shock. He did not understand what had just happened until he views to see the purple turtle holding his phone in his hand, still connected to the robot. He wore a sly grin before pointing at the elites.

"Foot. Attack." He ordered.

The robots unfroze from their position and focused their attention on the elite soldiers. They quickly knew what had happened.

"Oh no." Ocho mumbled out his mouth.

The robots began chasing after them, causing them to flee from the scene like a bunch of mice being chased away by a cat.

As they disappeared from sight, the turtles let themselves relax. They hadn't expected this night to go the way it did.

"Why can't we ever have one night where we don't have to fight something?" Mikey moaned as he rubbed his upper arm, a bruise surely forming later on in the morning.

"My question is why do the Foot have robots?" Raphael questioned, making the rest ponder his query.

Donatello was the one who answered him, "They told us that they were working with someone and that they were the ones who gave them the robots. He didn't say who though."

He picked up the detached head from one of the robots and observed its circuit work. "I know this is a bit far fetched but I wanna say the Kraang."

"The kraang?" Leo asked him.

"Yeah, the robots... I recognized the metal, not as strong as the kraang's metal suits but still stronger than everything else." He explained. "The fact that there's no brain and their full droids throws it off, though."

"So it's not the kraang?" Casey questioned.

"It's possibly not them but something in my gut tells me it's them." Donnie says.

"Why are things always getting worse for us?" Raph groaned as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"We'll figure it out but first let's go home. I'm exhausted." Leo said before making his way off the roof down to the nearest manhole cover. His brothers soon followed behind him, entering the manhole and closing it once everyone had gone in.


	3. Karai's Mutation Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weary of the Kraang's intentions with the Foot, Shredder orders Karai to investigate their true motives. However, the mission goes south when Karai is captured by the Kraang. Fortunately for her, she is rescued by the turtles but are shocked to discover what happened during her capture.

The hot breeze of summer swept the city of New York. Spring had now ended, and summer began. While most complained about the heat, Karai did not. Running across rooftop after rooftop, Karai had been sent on a mission by her father.

_"I want you to go and investigate more about the Kraang; bring me everything you can about them. And please, be careful."_

Reaching her destination, she infiltrated the abandoned warehouse that the Kraang had set base in. She maneuvered swiftly and quietly, roaming through the entire building without being detected. With sword in hand, she moved on to the next floor below. It wasn't her sword she was carrying; however, it was Leonardo's. She had kept it since her battle against the Kraang three months ago and when she was used by the Kraang to make a deal with the Foot. His sword came in handy, being more powerful than any other sword she had ever wielded before. She thanked him for that.

She walked down the stairs and entered a dimly lit laboratory. It was mostly empty with only a computer in the middle of the room with wires coming out of it from all sides, connecting to the walls and ceiling.

"Nothing, huh?" She thought, turning around to head to the next floor. She stopped, however, as three Kraang robots blocked her path, guns ready to fire.

She takes immediate action and slices through them with her sword. The robots are decommissioned, but they weren't the only ones in the room: more kept flooding in, Karai taking out each and everyone that came at her. But soon, there were too many for her to handle.

As she sliced through a robot, she was shot by a tranquilizing dart, its contents slowly entering her system. She pulled out the dart and continued to fight. Her vision began to become blurry, and she felt weak. The dart had started taking effect. She fought through it, trying hard not to let it take effect. Eventually, she collapsed to the ground, going unconscious.

"Prepare the containment unit Commander Kraang ordered. He does not wish for nothing to go wrong."

"How much longer 'til we get there?" Raphael asked his brothers.

The turtles were in their van on the way to another Kraang base on the lower east side. However, this base was more security heavy than the other ones the turtles had been to, meaning that the Kraang were hiding something important in it.

"A few more minutes," Donnie responded from his spot at the computers embedded into the wall of the vehicle. He turns his chair to his left, "You got the chip ready?"

"Yup! Everything's good to go." April says, who continued to click away at the keyboard. She unplugged the chip from the computer and handed it to the purple turtle, who put it inside his backpack.

The turtles arrive at their destination and infiltrate the building. They move swiftly and quietly, checking every room and floor for anything the Kraang may be up to. So far, they haven't found anything, but that doesn't deter them. They continue their search and head down the floors below.

They reach the last floor, which would be considered the basement. They peer their heads over the corner of the hall to find no Kraang. They sprinted over to the room in the hall and enter to find the computer room.

"We found the computer room," Donnie said through his communicator as he dug through his backpack to get the chip out. He plugged it in and got to hacking. "Chip is in."

" _Hang tight guys, it'll take a while to get through_ ," April told them as she and Donnie simultaneously hacked the computer, April collecting the data into the chip while Donnie erased it from the hardware.

"Seems like the Kraang are hiding something important here after all," Raph said.

"It seems that way. C'mon, perhaps we can find it while Donnie and April hack the system." Leo said before exiting the computer room, Raphael and Michelangelo following close behind. They exited the room only to split up and go in different directions.

Leo ran through the hallway to find only one room at the end of the passageway. He entered the room, which he discovered was a laboratory. It was completely dark, the only source of light coming from the electrical currents from the wires on the walls and floor and the large computer in the middle of the room. It engulfed the darkroom with a harsh magenta glow.

The blue turtle looked around to find the wall on his left to be decorated with large tall containment units. Large tanks of mutagen were hung from the wall next to the units. He did not think much of the units, thinking that they were nothing more but for the humans the Kraang kidnapped and mutated.

There was nothing special about this place. There was nothing important the Kraang were hiding.

Leonardo turned around and started walking to the door when he heard something.

"L-Le...o..."

He looked around the room, trying to find the source of the noise or if it was all in his head. He waited quietly.

"Leo..."

There it was again. He walked further into the room, near the end of the containment units. He gripped his katana tighter as he prepared himself for something to jump at him. He got down to the final unit and was shocked to find what was inside. Inside was a mutant, but not just any mutant...

"K-Karai?!"

"Leo..." She said, her voice very raspy as she put her hand onto the glass.

She was lying on the unit floor, her arms, torso, and neck connected to tubes that connected to the large tanks of mutagen. They pumped the mutagen into her changing body. The lower half of her body had already changed; her legs had now connected to form a snake's body, curling around the cage's limited space. Her upper half was still human; her arms were covered in scales and reached to her cheeks. Her eyes were a bright red instead of the brown ones she had. Fangs adorned her teeth as they peaked out her upper lip.

The turtle kneeled before the cage and looked down at her through the glass, putting his hand where Karai's hand is.

"Karai, w-what happened to you?!" He asked her.

"Help...me..." was all she could say before her voice was cut short and she went into a coughing fit.

Leonardo didn't know what to think at the moment; he was too stunned at the situation in front of him. He had so many questions; why was she here? Why did the Kraang mutate her? Is she the one important thing they were hiding?

He could see her suffering, the outline of her spine and ribs, the redness of her eyes and dark purples under them, the poorly healed wounds and cut on her body.

He wanted to help her, but what would his brothers think? She was their enemy; she was the chunin of the foot. But even then, she still helped them, went against orders to save them.

Leonardo made his choice.

"D-Don't worry! I'll get you out!"

Getting up from his knees, he started to break the containment unit's hatch door but to no avail. The door was tightly shut, and it looked like it wasn't budging anytime soon. But that didn't deter him. He continued to get the door open.

The door to the lab opened, and in came the rest of the turtles.

"Leo, c'mon! We're done here!" Raph told him.

"I can't," Leo responded, his hand slipping once more from the door.

"What do you mean you can't?!" Donnie questioned him, all of them coming into the room.

"Look." Leo pointed to the cage in front of him, his brothers following his hand.

They all gasped, Mikey, covering his mouth with his hands, Donatello taking a step back, while Raphael merely froze.

"I-Is that... Karai?" The purple turtles questioned his blue brother.

"Yes. Now help me get her out of here!" Leo said before returning to attempt to open the door once again.

"W-Wait, you want us to get her out?! I'm not sure if you remember, but the last time I checked, she's the enemy!" Raphael argued.

"So what?!" Leo responded.

"So what?! Don't you realize what you're saying?! She's our enemy, Leo!" Raph argued back.

"No, she's not! She's not our enemy!" The blue turtle yelled, his hands slipping once more, but this time he turns to face his slightly younger brother. "She's saved us twice now! She warned us about the foot! She didn't kill us when she was ordered to! She helped us take down all of those Kraang robots and stayed behind for us to save Mikey!"

"I don't care if you won't help! I'm not leaving her here!" Leonardo went back to get the door open. The rest of the turtles only watched as Leo struggled to get the door open.

Mikey stepped out of the small circle he was in with his two older brothers.

"She saved our lives." He told his brothers before walking up to the cage and helping his eldest brother. Soon enough, Donnie joined in to help with Raph following soon behind him.

With all of their strength, they were able to get the cage door open, the door coming off from its hinges and the glass breaking from the force. Leo ripped off all the tubes connected to Karai and held her in his arms. Rising from the floor and adjusting his grip on her to cradle her in his arms.

"Let's go." He said before exiting the room and making his way out of the building with his brothers following behind him. They got out of the building through the roof access and used the fire escape to get down to the alleyway that the van was parked in. They got into the van, and Raph grabbed the keys and started driving off.

Leonardo laid Karai down for Donnie to examine her.

"You guys good? Who is that?!" April asked them worryingly.

"It's Karai. Looks like she got mutated." Donnie explained as he inspected said person. Removing some of the gauzes taped onto her body, he discovered some of her wounds had reopened, blood flowing out of her quickly.

"Get me the first aid kit!" He told April, who quickly got it out and passed it to him. He opened the box and got out everything he needed to patch her up.

Leonardo stayed right by Karai's side, unconsciously holding her hand. She looked frail and ill. She was losing so much blood, which only made her look even worse. He squeezed her hand tighter, wishing, hoping that she would be okay.

Mikey moved from the passenger seat to sit next to Leonardo, putting an arm around his back and slowly rubbing it up and down in an attempt to comfort his eldest brother. Mikey had always been good at comforting others, knowing exactly what someone needed to feel better. His attempt worked to some extent. Leonardo relaxed a bit as he continued to watch Donnie patch her up.

"Where too?" Raph asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Home," Leo responded.

No one said anything, Raph kept driving, and Donnie kept working on the wounds. They all stayed silent for the remainder of the ride home.

The turtles arrived home in record time, thanks to Raph's reckless driving and taking the alleyway. They got out of the van, Donnie going straight to his pile of medical equipment to grab his tools, sutures, bandages, and everything he might need to look over and redo his patch job on Karai. At the same time, Leo carried and set Karai down on the exam table.

"April, I might need your help. Go put some gloves on."

"On it."

Donnie set up the IV tube next to the table and spread his tools over another table before beginning to redo his patch job. He removed the gauzes and examined the wounds.

"How bad is it?" Leo asked worryingly.

"Fortunately, it's nothing fatal, but I need to act fast to avoid more blood loss." The purple turtle began disinfecting the wounds.

"We'll be outside," Raph told him before dragging the other turtles out of Donnie's lab and into the living room where they see their mother coming out of the dojo, having heard the commotion coming from the lab moments earlier.

"You're home," she said as she walked towards her sons. She notices the subtle absent-mindedness of their faces. "What happened?"

The turtles stayed silent, unsure what to say, not finding the right words to explain what had transpired. Normally Leo would be the one to explain, but he was still shocked to even talk, so Raph did it for him.

"The kraang mutated Karai, and we found her at the Kraang base we were at and brought her back with us. Don's in the lab fixing her up." He said bluntly.

"Karai? As in, Shredder's daughter?"

"Yup."

She stayed silent, letting the information process in her mind.

"Will she be alright?"

"Donnie said she'll be fine, for now."

She nodded.

"Let me make us some tea." She walked into the kitchen and began preparing the tea. Her sons took a seat on the furniture as they waited for her to finish.

It wasn't until an hour later that Donnie and April had come out of the lab, their hands, hoodie, and pants covered in fresh and dried blood. Both walked over to the others, taking a seat on the free spaces on the furniture.

"How is she?" Leo asked.

"She's fine though she lost a lot of blood. She'll need to recuperate for a few days to get her strength back up." The purple turtle explained.

"How long will that be?" Raph questioned.

"No more than a week, hopefully." He responded. "We're also gonna need to find a place for her to rest. My lab isn't big enough to have her in there."

"What about the spare room?" Raph suggested.

"It could work. We just need to take out the junk inside."

"Then it's settled."

The group split up to begin transferring Karai from the lab to the spare room. Raph, Mikey, and Shen gathered everything inside the room and take it out while Donnie, April, and Leo gathered the medical equipment and Karai from the lab. Leo carried Karai up to the room and set her down gently onto the bed while Donnie set up the IV tube next to the nightstand.

"She should be good." The purple turtle stated as he finished adjusting the IV tube.

"So what's up with her mutation? Why isn't she, y' know, fully snake." Raph questions his purple brother.

"I'm not sure. She was injected with the mutagen; she should be fully mutated not... like this." Donnie stated. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"Could this be part of some plan the Kraang are coming up with?" Leonardo asked him.

"Possibly, but I'm not sure."

"But why would the Kraang mutate her? What is there to gain?" Raphael questioned.

"Who knows..."

Donnie started making his way to the door, "I'm gonna need to run some tests on her to figure out what's going on. Perhaps the data we collected has some answers."

Donnie exited the room with April, Mikey, and Raph following close behind. Tang Shen was about to leave the room until she noticed Leo sitting in a chair next to the bedside. She stopped midway through the doorway, her hand holding the door frame.

"What about you?" She asked.

"In a minute." He answered.

Expecting her to leave, Leo was surprised to find his mother stay beside him. She lifted her hand and rested it on top of his shell, moving it up and down slowly. They both stayed in the room in silence, the light from an old lamp on the nightstand engulfing the entire room in a slight golden hue. They watched as the blanket rose slightly up and down in a constant rhythm. Shen could sense the worry in her son, his uneven breathing, and the stiffness of his body being clues to it.

She turns her head slightly. "She will be fine, my son," she reassured him.

"I know she will," Leo responded, not parting his gaze over Karai.

"Then why are you worrying so much?"

There was a slight pause, Leo turned his head the other direction. He only sighed before slowly turning his head back at his mother.

"I'm just... confused."

"Confused? How so?"

"Karai... she's our enemy, she's part of the Foot Clan. Heck, she is the daughter of Shredder! I-I know I shouldn't have helped her since she's our enemy, but..." He took a moment to gaze at her resting figure. "She's saved us. Not just once but multiple times. She was ordered to kill us... but instead, she ended up sparing our lives."

"I know the guys weren't exactly on board on helping her, but I couldn't just leave her to the hands of the Kraang. Who knows what would've happened?"

Leo stood and walked to face the brick wall, "but I can't shake the feeling that maybe this was a bad idea. That when she wakes up, she'll betray us and lead Shredder down here to finish us off."

"Why does everything have to be so hard...?" he slammed his head against the wall softly as to not hurt himself.

"There are always hard choices to be made, and every choice can lead to many outcomes." Shen put a hand on his shoulder and turned his body to face her.

"You had two options, rescue Karai or leave her, and you chose to bring her here. As you say, she has saved you and your brothers many times before, and your time as a friend with her shows you care and believe there is good in her. But you also have to remember that she is Saki's daughter, a kunoichi, a master of deception. If she were to awake, she could lead her father down here. We do not know for sure what will happen, for that we just have to wait and see."

"I just hope I made the right choice." Leo sighed as he took another moment to gaze at the unconscious mutant.

"You like her, don't you," Shen smirked.

"W-What? N-No!" Leo quickly turned his head at his mother in shock, his face flushed by the idea.

"Yes, you do. Your face says it all." She told him, giggling as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"I—" Leonardo was about to argue but sighed in defeat instead, knowing he couldn't lie to his mom. Either way, he was a bad liar, to begin with. "Yeah... just a little bit. But you can't tell the others!"

"Don't worry, I won't say a thing." She swore as her fingers ran over her lips in one swift motion.

Leo smiled, "Thanks, mom."

"Any time." She put a hand on his back and began pushing him in the direction of the door. "Come on, let her rest. I'll make you some more tea."

"Some coffee would be nice."

It was already 2 am, a full three hours since the turtles had rescued Karai. Donnie and April were in the lab. Donnie analyzed Karai's blood, and April decrypting the data they collected from the Kraang computer. Raph and Mikey had crashed on the couch an hour earlier, a blanket covering both turtles. Tang Shen had already retired to her room, her exhaustion overcoming her. Leo kept a vigil on Karai, not leaving her side and waiting for her to awake.

After sipping a bit of his coffee he got from his mother, he stood up from the chair he brought over to the side of the bed from the corner of the room and started walking out the door. He walked down the stairs and over to the lab, where he entered and took a stand next to his younger brother.

"Have you guys found anything about Karai or the data?" He asked, setting down his cup on the trash-littered table.

"Huh?" Donnie jumped from his chair, startled by Leo's sudden question but quickly recovered as he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to keep himself awake. "Oh, yeah."

He yawned and stretched out his arms and arched his back until he heard a couple of loud pops before returning to lean against his chair.

"So, from the blood samples, we found out the mutagen injected into Karai had been altered to be more potent. Basically, it did what mutagen does; increase strength, speed, stamina, etc.; but it increases it by tenfold. Because of that, it takes longer to take effect in the host, which explains why she never fully mutated and retains some of her human features." He explained.

"But that isn't the strangest part," April said, catching the attention of the blue masked turtle.

"What is?" He asked.

"She can revert to and from being mutant and human." She answered.

"Wait, are you serious?" He said in disbelief.

"Yeah. While Donnie was looking at the cells under the microscope, he found the mutant cells reverted back to human cells." She confirmed.

"Just what the hell did the Kraang inject her with?" The blue turtle mumbled, still trying to process the information just given to him.

"Don't know, but this isn't something to be taken lightly," Donnie told him.

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Whatever the Kraang did to her is nothing good. Look at this."

His hand traveled into his pants pocket. Donnie grabbed a small black device with a needle coming out of one side with a magenta light on the opposite side. He had found this when he was healing Karai's wounds on the back of her neck.

"From the data that we've collected from the computers, which wasn't much, the Kraang had implanted a mind-control device on her." He explained.

"Mind control? Why would they implant this on her?" Leo questioned as he grabbed the device and looked it over.

"Not sure. There wasn't much we could decipher from the data, like usual."

Leo sighed in disappointment by the answer. He gave the device back to Donnie, who set it down on the counter.

"She'll sure be in shock when she wakes up," Leo said.

"Not just shock. Slight PTSD, trauma, basically anything of the sort. It's gonna be hard for her. We'll need to help her through it." April said.

"I'm going to sleep." Leo grabbed his mug from the desk before walking out of the lab and up to his room on the second level.

"There's something I can't get out of my mind," Donnie mumbled as he rested his chin on top of his hands.

"What is it?" April asked him.

"Remember when we fought those Foot Robots?" He said.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Call me crazy, but I think something's going on between the Foot and the Kraang." He said. "I mean, think about it, Karai said that the Kraang had ambushed her and her soldiers. Those robots we fought were basically android versions of the Kraang, and Karai was mutated and kept in one of the highly secured labs of the Kraang."

"Woah..." April was stunned by the amount of detail Donnie had been able to remember and be able to connect. "If that were true, why would the Kraang and the Foot team up?"

"That—! I don't know." Donnie said disappointedly. "I haven't thought about that yet, but the pieces are there."

"We'll only find out once Karai wakes up. That is if she is willing to tell us."

Both stayed silent for a minute before the turtle yawned, stretching his arms up in the process.

"We should get some sleep," April said before closing the laptop in front of her. She stood up and went to power down Donnie's computer.

"Hey!"

"You need to sleep."

"Sleep is for the weak!"

April shook her head and rolled her eyes, "C'mon, let's get to bed." April grabbed ahold of Donnie's arm before dragging him out of his chair and out the lab to his bedroom on the second level.

Leo walked past the spare bedroom to his room when he heard some noise coming from inside. He stopped in his tracks before coming to rest his head on the door. He heard some grunting and ruffling of the covers. He decides to go inside. He grabs the knob and slowly turns it, and pushes the door slowly. He peeks his head through the door to find Karai already awake, sitting up against the bed frame while holding the blanket close to her. She seems confused and frightened, her head turning in every possible direction looking at her surroundings.

"Karai..." Leo said softly as he entered the room, careful not making sudden movements.

Karai snaps her head at Leonardo, fear building up in her as she seemed not to recognize the blue turtle.

"P-Please... no more..." Karai spoke hoarsely.

"Karai, it's me. Leonardo." Leo told her as he slowly walked closer to her, reaching the end of the bed. As he advanced, Karai sinks herself more and more into the bed frame. He extends his hand to her, but she swats it away.

"No! Please! No more! No more pain!" She yells as she tries to push the turtle away from her.

"Karai! It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt—" Leo tried calming her, but he got pushed back with a strong force.

"No! Get away from me!" Karai yelled at the top of her lungs, or at least what she could. She continued to hit Leonardo, swatting her arms at the reptile.

"Karai! It's—"

"Please! Go away!"

Leonardo grabs hold of Karai and brings her close to his plastron and wraps his arms around her. This sudden movement made Karai freeze and try to understand what was happening.

"It's alright... You're safe." Leo whispered in her ear, reassuring her that she was indeed safe.

"L-Leo...?" Karai said as she finally recognized his voice.

"I'm here... no one will hurt you... I promise..." Leo responded as he tightened his grip on her.

Karai's eyes swelled as tears began forming and falling down her cheeks. She slowly crumbled into a loud sob, digging her face into the turtle's plastron and wrapping her arms around his shell.

Leo rubbed her back with one of his hands while the other rubbed the back of her head, rocking her back and forth. The comforting gesture was something he was given as a child by his mother. She would always rock him in her arms whenever he felt scared or sad. It was soothing, and it helped to calm him and his brothers whenever she did.

Both reptiles stayed in each other's arms for a while, Karai's sobs slowing down to crying to mere sniffles. Karai lifted her head from Leo's plastron and rested it on his shoulder, not ready to let go of the warm, comforting hold of the turtle.

"H-How did you find me?" Karai asked him.

"My brothers and I found you on our mission. We... we don't know how you got there, but we couldn't leave you there." Leo answered.

Karai looks over his shoulder and down to where she sees her long tail peeking out of the bedsheets. Her eyes widen in disbelief.

"What... happened to me?"

"The Kraang mutated you." He said bluntly. "Your mutation is rather... unique." He added.

"How *cough* so?"

"You can change to and from being human and mutant. We're not entirely sure why, though." He explained.

Karai let herself process the information she was given, taking another look at herself. She was covered in light grayish-blue scales with a red pattern running down the front of her body. Her nails were long and pointed, almost claw-like. She moved her tongue inside her mouth and felt the two long fangs.

" _I really am a mutant._ " She thought.

"Leonardo..." She called his name.

"Yeah?"

"Why... did you save me?"

Seems like it was a question they both shared. She doesn't understand why he saved her. They were enemies, and while she did help the turtles, she was still their enemy, the daughter of Shredder. Why would they save her?

Leonardo took a moment to collect his words.

"You may be part of the Foot Clan, but you've saved me and my brothers. I'm just... returning the favor." He told her.

Karai dug her head deeper into Leonardo's shoulder and tightening her grip on him.

"Thank you..."

They stayed in their current position before Karai slowly started falling asleep. Once Leo thought she was out, he released his hold on her and gently set her down to lay on the bed once again, careful of not disturbing the stitches. He pulled the blanket over her and turned to make his way to the door when he was held back. He turned around to find Karai was still awake and had grabbed his wrist.

"Stay... please..."

Leo merely nodded at the request before taking a seat on the chair he had left at the bedside. He stayed by Karai's side, propping his arms on the bed and laying his head on top of them until Karai had fallen asleep once more. As he watched her, he too began to become sleepy. Once she was out, it wasn't long for Leo to be out as well.


	4. Karai's Mutation Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Days have passed since the turtles' rescue of Karai who slowly recovers and deals with her sudden mutation. During her time with the turtles, she gets closer to one particular turtle.

Two days had passed since the turtles had rescued Karai and decided to care for her until she gets better. They didn't mind. After all, Karai had helped and saved the turtles in the past. They were just "returning the favor," as Leo had said.

Karai stayed asleep for the first two days, only awaking when she felt hungry or couldn't take the pain her body suffered from the mutagen finishing to combine with her cells. Donatello kept a close vigil on her well-being and recovery, making sure no abnormalities appeared from her mutation - seeing as that was more common than not.

The turtles were busy doing their own thing. Donnie kept working in his lab. Raph was in the dojo beating up the already beaten up punching bag. Mikey merely played to get to the next level of his video game.

Leo was in his room, sulking away. Leo was confused, to say the least. When it came down to it, there was only one thing that bothered him. Karai. After he chatted with his mother, he began to wonder if he did make the right choice. So many things popped into his head that made him doubt his choice. He felt claustrophobic. He needed some fresh air, that would do him some good.

Leo walked out of his room before heading down to the dojo. Raph saw him enter and grab his swords.

"Where 'ya going?" He asked, not stopping his exercise.

"Out. I-I need some fresh air." Leo said, adjusting the strap before heading off.

Raph stared worryingly at his brother, aware that something was eating away at him. He didn't know what, however.

Raph was always stubborn - if the entire TMNT continuity didn't tell you that already - he would not stop until he learned what was bothering his brothers. Especially for Leonardo. He was always the one who had to deal with a lot of their problems, and this problem was no exception. In a way, they are very similar. They are the opposite sides of the same coin; both understood each other in ways the others didn't. Raph could always figure out how to get his older brother to tell him what was wrong. And right now, he knew his brother needed him.

Raph ceased his punching and grabbed his sais before heading out the dojo and out the Lair to go after his brother.

* * *

The city had cooled down from its scorching heat of the afternoon to the wonderfully warm evening. The humidity was high, but the air did not feel sticky. It the perfect weather for a turtle.

Raph ran across the city's countless rooftops, following the tracker app on his phone to locate his brother. After a couple more rooftops, he was able to catch a glimpse at his brother, who sat sitting on the edge of the roof of an apartment building. He approached carefully, not wanting to startle him.

He jumped down and landed a few yards away from Leo. He was sitting with his knees propped up to his chest and arms around his legs, his head resting on top of his knees. Raph walked up to him.

"Leo," He called out.

"Huh?!" Leo jumped, almost falling off the edge of the roof.

"H-Hey! Easy, it's just me." Raph calmed him.

"Oh... s-sorry. I didn't hear you," Leo replied. "What're you doing here, anyway?"

Raph came to sit next to him, "I've noticed you've been a bit down lately. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Oh... I-I'm fine."

Liar.

"You can't fool me, you know that. Come on, what's eaten you?" Raph nudged him.

"Seriously... I'm fine. Just needed some fresh air, is all."

Both turtles stayed silent for a while. Raph knew if he wanted an answer, he needed to be blunt.

"Is it about Karai?" Raph said bluntly, which caught the blue turtle off guard, though he should've expected it.

He looked over to his brother, who gave him that face he always gave him. The "you can't fool me" face. Leo knew it all too well and knew he couldn't get out of this one. He merely sighed, "Y-Yeah..."

"I don't trust her."

"I know..."

"You shouldn't have brought her back home with us."

"W-What?!" Leo was surprised again, "W-Why?!"

"Don't blame me for being paranoid cause I know you've thought about it too. But there's the chance that Karai, when she leaves, she'll rat us out to Shredder and lead them straight to the Lair and kill us."

"But she's saved us, not once but many times. She refused to kill us when she was ordered to, she let us go free when we escaped Shredder, and she helped us escape that Kraang base to save Mikey." Leo argued. "Do you really think someone like that would do that to us?"

"She's Shredder's daughter, the man of who, if you don't remember, is trying to kill us! Sure, she saved us before, but maybe she only did that to gain our trust and backstab us later! She's a kunoichi, a master of deceptiveness. It's more likely than you think."

"If that were true, then why hasn't she killed us yet? Quite a stupid choice if you ask me."

"It's like she said the last time we saw her. Her father would love the pleasure of killing us himself."

Leo merely turned his head to the side, resting his head on top of his crossed arms that rest upon his knees.

He whispered, "They're not gonna find out."

"How do you know?" Leo started to sweat profusely.

In truth, Leo didn't know the answer to that, or why he even said that in the first place. It was a gut feeling or the fact that he knew Karai more than the others. His time as friends with her helped him see Karai in a different light than his brothers, but with the fact that she broke his trust, betrayed him - he wasn't sure how to feel about her. He wanted to believe there was good in her, but with these negative thoughts clouding his mind... he wasn't sure what to think anymore.

"I—?" He tried to argue, but it seemed he had no words.

"Well, do ya?!" Raph insisted on an answer.

"Argh! I don't know!" Leo snapped; his voice could be heard a block away. Raph was shocked and leaned back a bit.

"I-I don't... know..." Leo whispered, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He brought her hands to his face.

"I don't know... why do things have to be so hard?" He told himself.

"I couldn't leave her... b-but..." He tried to find anything that could prove him right, but he fell short in the end. He felt the tears slide down his eyes and wet his fingers.

"You're right... I was so stupid..." He kept his cries at a mumble, always one to not like showing weakness, especially to his brothers. It comes from the fact that he was the oldest and had to protect them when they were younger. He couldn't cry for them, he had to be strong, yet he couldn't hold back the tears that fell.

"L-Leo...?" Raph called out.

"I shouldn't have saved her..." He heard his brother spew out under his breath.

Leo continued to cry, even if it was barely audible except for the occasional sniffle. Raph started to feel a bit guilty for how he handled the conversation. He knew he went too far and knew he didn't do a good job talking to him. He knew this was hurting his brother but didn't realize how much it took a toll on him.

Leo would always bottle his problems to himself, even when they were kids. Thinking as the oldest and the leader, having the role in protecting his brothers, he always felt he had to, yet it only did more damage than he meant. Someone would always have to help Leo unbottle all of that negativity for Leo not to go into a mental break down. Raph was a little late for that.

"Hey..."

"I'm such an idiot..."

"Sometimes."

Leo lifted his face slightly to reveal an annoyed expression with just his eyes, brows furrowed down. He probably shouldn't have said that.

"Leo... I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pressed on the problem too much. I just wanted to know what was wrong and maybe help you." Leo looked up at his brother. "But guess I screwed it up bad."

"More like terribly."

Raph ignored the rather deserved comment, "That's beside the point..." the red turtle sighed, bowing his head slightly to the right. "I'm sorry."

Leo merely stared at his brother, seeing him squirm under his gaze, awaiting nerve-rackingly for a response. The blue turtle was able to see the sweat drops dripping down Raph's face. He wasn't sure if it was from the nerves or from the weather. Leo's cries cease as he smiles forgivingly to his brother.

"It's okay." Leo let go of his knees, letting them hang from the edge of the roof. "I understand where you're coming from, and to be fair, I have thought about it. But I know there's good in her. She wouldn't have saved us if there wasn't."

"You really care about her, don't you?"

"I mean... we were friends before... everything." All of the turtle's blood rushed to his face, giving him a slight red undertone to his normally green-ish blue-ish skin as he recalled the pleasant time he spent with the now half-snake mutant.

Raph took notice of the sudden change in his brother's skin color and gave a cheeky smirk, "No fucking way. You like her, don't you?"

Leo jumped in surprise, flailing his arms around in protest, his face heating up and his skin gaining a more intense red undertone. "EH?! W-Wha- I-I don't-!"

"It's totally obvious. You remember how Donnie was when he had his crush on April? You totally like her." Raph continued with his claim.

Leo felt his face start to boil from the embarrassment that continued to grow inside him. He couldn't deny his brother's accusations. He had figured them to be true, realizing this back when he was still friends with Karai and again the last time he last saw her. The way his brother continued to stare at him with that smug look quickly crippled the blue turtle.

"Okay, fine, yeah... I like her. Please... don't tell the others..." he pulled his hood over his head in an attempt to shelter his embarrassment, much to his brother's amusement, a hardy chuckle escaping his lips.

"I won't." He lied. He would totally gossip about it to the others later if their mom hadn't already done so.

Leo felt relieved, somewhat, at that notion. Both turtles sighed as they gazed over the skyline of the city. It was bright and bustling as ever, never changing no matter how dark things get in this city.

Raph's amused smile faded, his brows furrowed up bleakly, "I still don't trust her. Less than before, but... don't say I didn't tell you so if it happens."

Leo sighed, "I know."

While the comment didn't make the situation better, Raph was glad his brother was in better spirits than before. The heavy weight of that problem had lifted significantly. He recognized this as a job well done on his part, even if he did kinda screw it up halfway through. He wrapped an arm around his brother, "C'mere you." He brought his older brother in a hug, Leo wrapping his own arms around him.

"Thanks... for listening."

"No need. That's what brothers are for, aren't they?"

Leo smiled at that remark as he tightened his arms around his brother's large shell. They stayed embraced for a few more moments before letting go.

"Looker harder! You will not rest until we find her!"

The turtles were startled by the rather large and demanding voice that came from the distance. Both looked at each other in familiarity to the voice. They stayed silent to hear the voice again.

"You fucking bastards- Hurry it up!"

Both looked at each other in shock as they realized whose voice it was—Shredder.

The turtles immediately ran to hide in the nearby fire escape. Luckily the fire escape was shadowed by the building, but any sudden movements would alarm the Foot, who came to a stop on the roof. They didn't want to risk getting killed. They would remain hidden until the Foot would leave. As they did, they listened in on their conversation.

"We must find Karai!" Shredder stressed as he paced around the roof.

"He's out looking for Karai?" Raph whispered to his brother.

"You'd think he'd stay put and let his men do it for him," Leo whispered back.

"Those blasted Kraang! They have to have Karai in their clutches!"

Kraang? How do they know about the Kraang, and why would they suspect them to have Karai? This was very confusing to both turtles.

"Cheng warned you about them. You should've listened to him." Honshu said to his master, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Karai's life was at risk. I couldn't let them kill her." Shredder retorted.

"What good would saving her do? She's just another soldier in your army." Ocho commented. A grave mistake on his part.

"Just a soldier?!"

Shredder snapped as he took hold of Ocho's scarf, pulling him close to his masked face.

"Karai is my daughter! I have vowed to make sure no harm befalls her! I would give my own life if it meant she lives! Out of all people, you should surely understand how hard it is to lose someone you deeply care about! Wouldn't you do the same if you were in my place and it was your wife who was in danger?!"

Everyone watching and listening was utterly terrified, Ocho especially whose entire body shook beneath his master. Sweat dripped from the elite's face as he stared at the expressionless mask in front of him, the only thing concealing the utter rage of his master's face.

"Do not provoke me, Ocho, or I will end your life. Remember who was the one who gave you the chance to enact your revenge! The one who gave you a new purpose! "

"Y-You, sir..." It seemed Ocho had learned his lesson.

"Good."

Shredder let go of his scarf and pushed his elite soldier away. He turned away before walking towards the edge of the roof.

"Now, let's move forward. We must find the Kraang. I have a hunch they're the ones who have my daughter, and we cannot continue to waste any more time." He said before setting off, his men following quickly behind.

Both turtles slowly emerged from the shadow that the building encased the fire escape. The brothers looked at each other, perplexed at the conversation they just heard.

Leo was the first to break the silence, "Didn't expect any of that."

"You'd think he'd be a heartless killer, but here we are discovering Shredder has kind of a "fatherly" side... kinda offputting. Him being a good dad? What're the chances of that?"

"And he talked about the Kraang like if he had something to do with them. Just what exactly happened the last time we saw Karai?" Leo pointed out.

"We'll have to wait and see when little miss snake princess wakes up."

Leo didn't like Raph's comment but ignored it, "C'mon. We gotta get out of here before they realize we're here."

Both turtles ran down the fire escape to a manhole down in the alleyway. Entering the sewers to head back home to the Lair.

* * *

It was the next day, and things stayed as usual as they had been. The turtles stayed home for most of the day as they normally do. They don't like going out in the day much, mostly because you can't get anywhere and for the constant stares that humans gave to mutants. While it has been nearly seven years since all mutants were reintegrated back into society, fear and prejudice still linger.

Leo and Raph decided not to speak of what they heard last night to the others, wanting to confirm the situation first before saying anything. They wanted to know the full story. They stayed quiet and never brought it up.

Karai stayed inside her room for most of the day, resting her body and trying to forget about the waves of pain that coursed through her body. After a while, she realized the apartment had grown silent. She wondered if the turtles were gone. _Probably_ , she thought. She got up from the bed; her legs had reformed back from a tail, and walked to the door, opening it slowly, peeking her head out. She didn't see anyone, at least as far as she could see. She went out of the door and walked down the stairs.

As she walked closer to the living area, another wave of pain scorched through her body. Suddenly her hormones responded, and she slowly reverted back into her snake form. She tensed and felt the little strength she had left in her body leave her. She collapsed to the floor, or at least that's what she thought.

"Woah, easy there!"

Leonardo had captured Karai in his arms just in time before she hit the floor. "You okay?"

"B-Body... hurts..." was all she mustered.

"Let's lay you down on the couch." Leo lifted her and carried her over to the couch, laying her down gently on top of the comfortable cushions. He grabbed a few pillows and put them underneath Karai's head. "Better?"

"Y-Yes..." Karai adjusts herself to be sitting upright on the couch. Leo watches to make sure she's comfortable until he hears the tea kettle starts to whistle from in the kitchen.

"The tea's done." He says, walking over to the kitchen. He stops midway and half-turns back to Karai, "Do you want some?"

"Y-Yes, please." She said before Leo went on his way.

He came back with two steaming cups in his hands. He hands one to Karai. "Careful, it's hot."

Karai gave a silent thank you, blowing away the vapor before taking a sip of the drink. Green tea, a common flavor but one that had a very soothing taste. She lowers her arms down before turning her head in multiple directions, observing the area around her only to find no other activities going on.

"Where are the others?" She asks the blue turtle who had taken a seat at the other end of the couch.

"They're out getting groceries and dinner. Hope pizza's fine with you." He answered, taking a sip from his tea. "I made sure to tell Mikey not to get anything too crazy, especially with the toppings."

Both mutants stay silent as they drank their tea. Karai started recollecting the moment she shared with Leo the other night. She remembered he told her why he saved her but it mostly a simple answer. She wanted to know more. She needed to know more.

"Leonardo," She called.

"Yeah?"

"A-About the other night... I asked you why you saved me. I-I know you already gave me an answer, but— I-I want to know more."

"For all this time I've known you, every time you were sent to kill us... you didn't. You spared us. You went against bushido, your clan, your own father's wishes. Even when you had us cornered in that alleyway when we fought the Shredder, you could've taken us all down, but you didn't. You let us go. A-And when Mikey got hurt, you stayed back so that we could get out of there even when you could've easily chosen to leave. Yet you stayed."

"When we found you, I-I really had no idea what to do. I knew the others, well, mostly just Raph and Donnie, disagreed with me in trying to save you, but I-I couldn't just leave you at the hands of the Kraang. Who knows what else they've would've done to you? Even if it meant running the risk of having you stay with us and ultimately ratting us out to Shredder... I couldn't bring myself to leave you." Leo rubbed the back of his neck.

"I-I guess what I'm trying to say is... it was our turn to return the favor." He smiled gingerly at Karai.

Karai slithered from her spot and wrapped her arms tightly around the blue turtle's neck. He was surprised by the action, his face heated up and gained a reddish undertone, but he did not break away from the embrace.

"Thank you." She whispered as a couple of tears fell down her cheeks. Leo wrapped his arms around her.

They both stayed like that for a while. Karai reformed back to a human, feeling the safety of the turtle. She broke the embrace, still sitting close to the blue turtle, wiping away any remaining tears.

"You're different from the other guys in the Foot," Leo told her.

"How so?" She turned her head to face him.

"You saved me and my brother's lives," He answered. "It's my turn to know why."

Karai took a moment to collect her words before giving him an answer. She glanced down at the reflection of her tea before facing the blue masked turtle.

"While I may be part of the Foot Clan, I do not entirely agree with my father's ways." She took a moment to continue.

"I was merely a child when I begged my father to be part of the Foot clan. He was hesitant as I was so young, but he eventually let me in once I was older. I trained with every new soldier that joined, learning the basics like the rest. Sooner or later, I began to excel beyond the others, and my father took notice. I began training privately with our clan's mystic, Cheng."

"As heiress to the clan, there was much more I had to learn than any other soldier. Not only did I have to be strong and skillful, but I had to be disciplined, ruthless, and lead with such power I never would've expected. That's when I realized how truly naive I was for joining the clan. The jonin could not accept failure within the clan, and those who were unfit to in it were punished severely." Karai took a moment to catch her breath before continuing.

"I was forced to get rid of those who did not meet our expectations. I did not want to, but I had no way of refusing. It would be shown as weak and dishonorable to the clan and to my father. Even when they begged to be spared, when they begged me to stop, I couldn't. Their cries haunted me then, and they still do."

Karai shivered at the memory, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, slight scales forming around her arms and cheeks. She held herself in an attempt to stop her shaking.

"I... I spilled so much blood... so much innocent blood. All because that's what a jonin had to do to maintain the strength of the clan. And the blood continued to spill as I became the Foot's deadliest weapon. Every mission, I spilled more blood... all for the sake of expanding our control and power."

The tears fell down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away, a subconscious action that had been engraved in her mind since she was little. You cannot show weakness, no matter what. Her body picked up the pace and slowly transformed back to her snake form.

Leo gave a few moments to let her release that pent up emotion, knowing well how bad it is to keep such things bottled up. He waited for her to continue. After a few moments, she continued once more.

"When I had come to learn about what happened to the Hamato Clan, I quickly realized how even more terrible the Foot was. Learning what my grandfather, Oroku Kaiji, did to the clan—Japan—sickened me to no end. He poisoned it for his own selfish greed, and my father is continuing that malice."

"I... I have taken it upon myself as the next Jonin of the Foot Clan to right the wrongs of my family's past. I will restore the honor that was lost to the clan and spill no more blood."

This surprised Leo. He figured she would want to destroy the clan, but she wants to fix it? To him, it would be easier to destroy it than to fix it, especially due to the amount of damage and hurt the clan has done.

"You know you don't have to do that. It's not your responsibility to fix what your family did." Leo argued. "Just because you're the next Jonin doesn't mean you have to continue to rule the Foot after your father."

"It's not the fact that it is my duty as the next Jonin. I want to fix it. I want to restore honor that was long lost back to the Foot." She explained.

Leo didn't want to argue, and he wasn't in the place to judge her. If she wanted to fix things, she could go right ahead; as long as it gets the Foot off his back and out of the city, it doesn't matter what happens to it. But this only answers his first question.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why'd you save us if you already have a plan to fix the Foot?"

Karai took a moment to collect her words. "As chunin and daughter to Shredder, I cannot dishonor him, the family, or the clan. I cannot kill him; treason would result in my death as well. And I don't want to kill him. He may seem heartless to everybody else, but to me, he is a loving father, and I would be insane to ever do that to him."

Leo pouted at the statement.

"But if there was an outside force..." That caught Leo's interest.

"I have seen you guys fight, and I can see the potential you and your brothers have in defeating my father. You are the few who have fought him and survived."

"You say that as if it were true. My brothers and I didn't stand a chance against him. We barely escaped with our lives." He argued.

"That is more than what others say."

"But—do you really think we can beat him?"

"I don't think," Karai puts her hand on top of Leo's, squeezing it gently. "I'm sure of it."

Karai smiles reassuringly at the blue turtle who returned the gesture.

"Um... I have one more question."

"Yes?"

"I don't know if this will rub you the wrong way—I mean, I kinda have my reasons for it, but-" Leo took a breath in.

"Are you gonna... tell Shredder about us and... come after us?"

Karai giggled at the question, which very much surprised the blue turtle. Some of her scales disappeared by her lightened mood.

"Of course not! Why would you think that after all the times I've saved your ass?! Of course, I'm not gonna tell him!"

Leo sighed in relief. He can finally rest easy knowing he and his family were safe. Guess he was worrying for nothing, but he had to be sure.

"That's good, but... you gotta promise you won't. Promise?" Leo stated seriously.

"I promise," Karai confirmed as she raised her hand up and made an x on top of her heart with the other. She stared intently into Leo's eyes to confirm it further and that she was serious. Leo believed her and smiled.

Suddenly, the Lair entrance opened, and the turtles barged inside with at least 5 boxes of pizza in their hands.

"Do not worry! Dinner has arrived!" Mikey declared before heading straight to the kitchen. "Oh, hey, Karai."

"Took you guys long enough!" Leo told him.

"That's a lot of pizza," Karai stated curiously. "Don't you think it's a bit much?"

"Nope! We all eat one box on our own." Mikey replied as he went to sit down in the kitchen, the others following close behind.

"Wait, you guys can eat an entire box?!"

Leo chuckled at the comment as he stood from the couch.

"C'mon, let's go eat." He extended his hand out towards Karai, who grabbed it and was pulled up from the couch and escorted her towards the kitchen, where they were greeted by the greasy yet delicious smell of steaming hot pizza.


	5. Karai's Mutation Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Karai inches closer to returning home, she finds herself drawn to Shen. The mother turtle was the only person outside her family who knows more about her own father than anybody else. There is much she does not know of her own father and perhaps Tang Shen could give her some answers.

The smell of greasy food engulfed the kitchen, making the air slightly thick but smelling delicious. Steam rose from the multiple open boxes of pizza, spreading their smell.

The turtles had gathered together around the kitchen island to feast. Each turtle had a box of their own, chowing down on the contents inside.

It was a rather simple dinner, having small-talk in between bites. Each turtle finished their pizza box before taking a moment to relax.

Using this opportunity, Donnie asked Karai if he can do a checkup on her since she is awake. She accepted, and both went into his lab to perform a checkup. He made sure Karai had no complications, checking her health and her wounds. Fortunately for her, she was recovering normally and at a faster rate than the purple turtle expected. If she were to keep this up, it would be only a few days before she would be sent home.

"That should be everything, for now," Donnie told her before putting away his stethoscope and other medical equipment back into a drawer. "The mutagen is still taking its time to process, so you might feel some pain waves. They shouldn't last long, though."

"Thank you," Karai told him, bowing slightly in appreciation.

Karai laid back into the chair, sighing in relief just as the door to the lab opened. In came Leo and Mikey, the younger turtle holding a broken video game controller in his hand. Leo came to stand next to Karai while Mikey went straight ahead to Donnie.

"The controller broke again, sorry." Mikey apologized as he handed the broken device to the "handyman."

"How the hell do you keeping breaking it? This is the second time this week." Donnie scolded him as he took the device and began examining the damage. It was a minor fix, really, an inconvenience. At least it wasn't as bad as the van that was being repaired by Raph on the opposite side of the room.

The whirring sound of an electric drill filled the room as Raph took off the suspension of the back right tire of the van. The van itself was still in pretty good shape, all things considered, all that was broken was the entire back tire mechanism. The Kraang had aimed to fire at the turtles but missed by a few feet. Still, the explosion's impact caused the van to lose its steer and resulted in them knocking the van into a fire hydrant, compromising the tire. Donnie and Raph had hoped it would be an easy fix, but it seemed that there was more to it than they wanted.

As that was going on, Mikey plopped onto the bean bag that lay on the ground as he took out his 3DS from his back pocket and began playing as he waited for Donnie to finish the controller.

"Did everything turn out okay?" Leo asked the snake mutant, who was still sitting on the spinning chair.

"Everything went well." She answered.

Donnie finished his examination over the controller, and just like with the van, it was more difficult to repair than he expected. The joystick motor had become stiff, and the "a" button completely smashed. While he could fix them, he didn't want to, and it would cost more to repair the controller than to get a new one.

He turned to his younger brother, "Sorry, Mike but the controller's busted. You're gonna need to buy a new one."

"You can't be serious? Man... my poor wallet..." Mikey groaned as he let his limbs hang over the bean bag.

Donnie rolled his eyes over the dramatic scene his brother put on before turning back to his very, and I mean, _very_ cluttered desk. It's a surprise no one has gotten lost in the thing. As he turned, he knocked over a couple of papers off his desk when he saw the small mind control device he removed from Karai. He had totally forgotten about it.

He grabbed the small device in his hand. Its purpose was a mystery and why it was on Karai. He wanted to know more about it and had waited until Karai was awake to ask her about it. It didn't help with his speculation over the Foot and Kraang.

He turned his chair to face Karai and Leo, who were having small talk with each other.

"Hey," Donnie called out, gaining both mutants' attention.

"I know it's kinda out of the blue, but—" Donnie spoke, "what happened after we left to save Mikey? Y'know, when we fought that giant Kraang robot."

Karai was taken aback by the sudden question, though she figured she shouldn't be. After all, that was the last they saw of her before they found her in that Kraang base. They knew this question would surface sooner or later.

This piqued the other turtles' curiosity. While it may seem that Raph and Mikey were not paying attention, they were all ears. Raph set aside his drill while Mikey paused his game.

"Well—after you had left, I was captured by the Kraang and was brought back to my father and used to convince him to ally with them. If my father accepted, they would set me free, but if he didn't, I would've been killed. He accepted, unwilling to let them kill me." She explained.

"An alliance?! You're kidding, right?!" Leo was in disbelief. He turned to take a gaze at Raph, who looked back at him. Both of them knew something was up with the Foot and Kraang, but to join forces, things just got a lot worse.

Karai continued, "You are both our enemies, and it only seemed logical. We both want you dead." She further explained. "Then again, it is not like we fully trust them either. We know they'll betray us once our partnership is no longer beneficial to them."

"But how did you get mutated?" Donnie asked. "Do you know why you got mutated?"

"I don't know why and to be completely honest, I don't even want to know. I was on a recon mission to figure out what the Kraang wanted from us when I was captured and... mutated. I don't even know how long I was in there... it felt like I was in there forever."

"Must've been hard," Mikey said.

"It was..." Karai sighed, trying to erase the unpleasant memories from her head.

"Thank you... for saving me." She told them, a small smile forming on her face.

"You saved us before. We were only returning the favor." Leo told her as he set his hand on top of her shoulder and gave her a warm smile. The snake mutant's blood rushes to her face in reaction to the gesture but could not hold back but returning that same smile.

The other turtles noticed the little gesture, and each of them gave each other that knowing look, sly smugs plastered all over their faces. They knew what was up.

Leo took notice of this and quickly removed his hand over Karai's shoulder, crossing his arm in an attempt to remain cool.

"Anyway, thank you again for your help. I'll be going to my room." Karai said as she stood from the chair and slithered her way to the door, exiting the lab leaving the four turtles inside.

After they had made sure she was out of earshot, the three youngest turtles gathered up around the oldest with their smug eating grins still plastered on their faces.

"What?" Leo asked, uncomfortable at the intrusion of his personal space.

"You like her!" Mikey chanted aloud, pointing his finger at his oldest brother.

Leo was taken back by this, "I-I do not!"

"Leo, listen, buddy. It's obvious you like her. There's no denying it at this point." Donnie told him as he wrapped an arm around the blue turtle.

Leo didn't muster up anything to counter his purple brother. Instead, he turned his attention to Raphael, who stood to his left side.

"You didn't tell them, did you?" He whispered angrily.

"Don't look at me. I've kept my mouth shut this entire time." Raph said, putting his hands in the air to prove his innocence.

"C'mon, you don't have to hide it. We know you like her." Mikey told him, trying to get his brother to confess.

"C'mon, we're not gonna make fun of you, promise," Donnie reassured.

Leo wasn't exactly sure, but at this point, denying it or keeping it a secret wasn't going to do anything for him. He already came clean to Raph and his mom; it was only a matter of time before he had to come clean to the others.

Leo sighed as he gave in, "I-I... like her..."

He could feel his blood rushing to his face as it turned red, heating up from the embarrassment.

"Wow. I didn't actually think you were gonna say it." Donnie admitted.

"Aw~ Leonardo is falling in love! Looks like mom can marry off two of her sons!" Mikey joked, poking fun at both Leo and Donnie.

"Okay! I'm not sure I'd say we'd go that far ahead!" Leo argued.

"Well, we know for sure Don's getting married," Raph commented.

"You do realize I'm only 16, right? April's 18. Not exactly marriage material."

"Not Yet. Give it a few years."

"I'll take my chances. I hope by the time that happens, it won't just be sexual tension between you and Casey." Donnie countered.

That really got Raph's blood to boil, "What?! Me and Casey? Get real! I have standards, and let me tell you, Casey is way below that line."

The other turtles laughed as Raph was beginning to turn as red as his mask. While the turtles didn't really see them going anywhere, it would be pretty funny if they did end up together. _(I mean, Raph does emit the gayest energy out of all of the turtles, so... -3-)_

It took a couple of moments for everyone to calm down. Raph immediately went back to work on the van.

"C'mon, we're just messing with you!" Leo tried to cheer his brother up, but he had already sat down on his stool and picked up the drill.

Leo gave a defeated sigh knowing his brother won't talk to them for the rest of the night. He turned back to the others. "Hey, guys? Don't say anything to Karai, okay?"

"Got it," Donnie promised as he went back to sit down at his desk.

"Can do, bro!" Mikey also promised as he went back to his bean bag and continued playing on his 3DS.

"That goes for you too, Raph!" Leo said over the sound of the drill.

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever!" He heard his brother yell.

Leo sighed, letting himself relax, knowing he can trust his brothers. But what he doesn't know is that his secrecy had been for nothing. Karai had heard everything.

Karai had stopped on her way to the stairs when Mikey had shouted: "You like her!" She didn't mean to eavesdrop but found the conversation rather entertaining. Leo scurrying to deny the claim made her chuckle. She was taken aback, however, by the fact that Leo admitted she liked her. That her stomach feels like it was filled with butterflies. The blood rushed to her face as her pale skin gained a pinkish tone. She felt her heart skip a beat.

She never thought someone would ever think of her as someone who could be loved, but since she met Leonardo, that idea quickly started to diminish. The way he would look at her and listen to her made her feel things. Strange things she never knew before. They only grew the more she knew him and pained her when she couldn't see him again. She still wasn't sure why she was hurting and didn't care until now.

She finally knew what she was feeling. She knew exactly what those strange feelings were. She had fallen for him too. Not as much as Leonardo, but quite close.

Karai laid a hand on top of her chest in an attempt to calm her beating heart. She took a deep breath before she calmed herself. After a few moments, she began her way to the stairs and up to her room, a smile plastered on her face as she walked.

* * *

It was the next day, and it went as usual as any day could go. The turtles stayed home for most of the day, but tonight they had patrol. Without the van working, they had to go on foot, which wasn't too bad. They kinda needed the exercise.

Karai laid awake on her bed as she tried to sleep the pain away. Another wave of pain coursed through her body, making her tense up, her hands balling into fists as they clenched the bedsheets. She exhaled a breath she did not know she was holding once the pain subsided. She relaxed as she waited for the next wave.

A knock came from the door before it opened. Tang Shen came inside the room, a small box inside her hand.

"You're awake." She stated, walking over to the nightstand and setting the box on top of it. "I came to re-bandage your wounds."

Karai nodded, sitting up and turning to sit on the side of the bed, her tail hanging from the edge. Shen grabbed the chair in the corner and brought it up to sit close to Karai. She grabbed the scissors from the box and began cutting the worn bandages around Karai's arm, setting aside the old bandage.

Her wounds had not yet closed completely. Small drops of blood squeezed out and ran down her arm. Shen set aside the scissors and grabbed the hydrogen peroxide, pouring the liquid onto a couple of cotton pads before rubbing them over the stitches. Karai hissed from the sudden sting but soon got used to the feeling.

"Where are the others?" Karai asked.

"Out on patrol," Shen answered, waving her hand over the freshly cleaned stitches.

"Ngh..." Another wave of pain coursed through her body.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah... I just forgot to keep track of the pain."

Shen went back to bandaging once she saw Karai was fine.

"I can't imagine how hard it must've been for you to go through this," Karai admitted.

"It was difficult. The pains accompanied were the worst of it. Forming a shell was not easy."

Karai stayed silent as Shen bandaged the arm before going on to do the other.

There was something on her mind, however, something she noticed when she arrived at the turtle's home. Since her father's battle with the turtles, he had not stopped talking about Hamato Yoshi or Tang Shen, their possibility of still being alive. She had not believed him when he first said it but slowly began wondering the same.

She remembered that Leonardo mentioned something about his father, that his father was killed by Shredder. The shuriken Ocho had brought contained the Hamato symbol, and the one who came to their rescue was a kunoichi. Everything started connecting.

"What is your name?" She asked.

It was a simple question that could confirm her suspicions and because she didn't know the turtles' mother's name. The last few days, she had not bothered to ask since she was always cared for by the others.

Shen seemed hesitant, stopping for a moment before resuming the bandaging. Tang Shen knew why Karai was asking; after all, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Saki would tell Karai about her or Yoshi. She wasn't sure whether to answer the question. She thought about it for a few moments before deciding.

"Tang Shen."

"So my father isn't a complete lunatic."

"Lunatic? What do you mean?" Shen was surprised by Karai's statement.

"Ever since my father fought your sons, he has kept saying that the mystery ninja who rescued them was Tang Shen or Hamato Yoshi. That they were still alive." Karai explained. "And with his mysterious encounter with the ninja again, he is fully convinced that it's you."

"Really? And you believed him?"

"At first, I didn't. I thought he was losing his mind, but then the pieces started aligning. When I had discovered the report about the burning of the Hamato Clan, two of the bodies of the three that had perished were found."

Karai bowed her head down and turned it slightly to the side, the hair that had been held back by her ear falling to the side of her face. "I always found that strange. No one would ever tell me the entirety of what happened."

The mutant turtle completed her task and stood to put away the extra roll of bandage back into the box.

"Would you like to join me for some tea?" Shen offered to the snake.

"Yes, thank you," Karai responded as she was led out the room and down to the kitchen where the tea kettle had been whistling for awhile.

She takes the kettle off the stove and pours the hot water into two cups before pouring in the macha tea leaves, mixing everything before serving it to her guest.

"Thank you," Karai said as she took the warm cup in her hand and blew away the steam before taking a sip.

Shen took a seat on the opposite side of the island. "Tell me about your father."

"Where to begin? Well... he's pretty much the same since I was little." Karai started. "In terms of being a father, I'd say he's good, not the best but enough of a loving father."

Shen sipped her tea as she imagined Saki being a fatherly type. After all, the way he was raised by Yutta probably helped him avoid making the same mistakes.

"I had thought so. After all, with the way he was raised, he would very much not want to go down the same path 'he' did." Shen said.

"Yeah, that still hurts him. But at least he's had my grandmother to help him." Karai added.

"From your mother's side?" Shen inferred.

"No." She answered. "My mother's family is all dead, including her. Died when I was born."

"Then whose grandmother?"

"Grandmother Amaya."

Shen's eyes went wide at the sound. "Saki still visits her?"

"Y-Yes. We visit the Hamato family a few times during the year, and we are very close. Amaya was pretty much the one who took care of me like her own daughter." Karai explained.

Shen's mood soured at the thought. How dare he continue to be with them like he hadn't been the one to destroy the clan? Shen tightened the grip on her cup, almost to the point of cracking the piece of ceramic.

"While my father is the jonin, I hate how easily swayed he is by Cheng," Karai commented as his brows furrowed at the mention of the name.

"Cheng?" That name seemed to spark something inside Shen's mind. Cheng. It sounded familiar, but she can't quite put her finger on it. "Who is this, Cheng?"

"Oh, right! Cheng is the mystic of the clan. He used to be my grandfather's chunin before Yutta killed him. He was the one who helped my father rebuild the foot. " Karai explained. Her face immediately soured as she let her head lean on top of her left hand. At the same time, her finger circled around the rim of the teacup, "I don't like how he manipulates my father to do things his way. He acts as if he's the jonin."

"It seems you're not too fond of him," Shen commented, still trying to figure out why this Cheng person sounded so familiar. She had heard Yutta mention the name before when he would talk about the ancient scrolls passed down their family, but she couldn't remember the exact context. She might have to do some research later.

"I mean, he _can_ be a bit of an ass sometimes." Both ladies chuckled at the comment.

Both women remained silent, letting the sweet smell of the aromatic drink engulf the air as both continued to drink their tea. As Shen finished her cup, Karai continued to circle her finger over the rim of the cup.

"Grandmother and my father... they told about what happened... the night of the fire. While I want to believe them, I sense they hadn't told me everything."

Karai raised her head and gazed at Shen.

"What truly happened that night? What happened before everything?"

Shen turned her head slowly to the snake.

"Do you want to know?"

Karai nodded.

"Come." Shen walked out of the room, expecting Karai to follow. Karai slithered behind her to the dojo.

Karai was impressed at the decor of the place, very reminiscent of the ones back in Japan and familiar to the one her grandmother has.

Shen sat down in front of the Shinto shrine at the other end of the room. She patted the carpet in front of her, gesturing for Karai to sit. She sat in front of her, her hands on top of her knees—well, where her knees would be. Shen grabs the mutant's hands in her own and begins whispering a chant. Karai recognizes this; having done this with Cheng and her father, she closes her eyes, focusing and letting her mind become blank.

Karai feels weightless as she enters the astral plane. She emerges from a pond of water. Karai looks down to find her body back to normal, human. She turns her head in multiple directions and found a woman sitting upon the grass meditating. She gave an odd look.

"Don't worry. It's just me." The woman opened her eyes and stood. She walked to the edge of the pond before extending her hand out. Karai grabbed her hand and was pulled out of the water.

"I thought you were going to explain everything."

"It is better to show than to tell."

Suddenly everything started changing around them. Their surroundings blurred until they reformed into another location, a dojo. Inside the dojo were three children with an adult. They were training.

"The Lotus clan did not merge into the Hamato Clan until I was about 7 years old. I became friends with them rather quickly and was trained alongside them by Yutta." Shen starts explaining.

"We were inseparable. Wherever one went, the other two followed. We were so close, best friends. We trusted each other, and we would do anything for the other."

The scene immediately turns dark as Yutta begins yelling at one of the young boys.

"Who is he yelling at?" Karai asks.

"Your father." She answers. "For many years, Yutta would always belittle Saki for such minor things. None of us knew why until many years later."

The scene began to blur and change once more. This time is reformed into a hospital waiting room.

"It wouldn't be until Yutta's heart attack that all of us would come to learn the truth about your father. It was a shock to us all, but we soon came to understand everything."

The room blurred again and reformed to be on the outside of the Hamato Estate. Shen and Yoshi were outside with Saki, who carried luggage with him.

"He would eventually leave the Hamato Clan. The only ones to know was Yoshi and me. We bid him farewell before he went on his journey."

"That is when he began to rebuild the Foot," Karai stated.

 _"_ Yes."

The surroundings blurred.

"It wouldn't be until 5 years later that we would see him again."

The surroundings reformed, and fire engulfed them, but it didn't hurt them. Cries and yells were heard. The clanking of metal sounded through the room.

_Yoshi and Saki were fighting, the decapitated body of Yutta laid to the side. Suddenly, Tang Shen came storming into the room._

_"Yoshi!" She cried._

_"Huh?" Yoshi turned to face her, but that became a mistake._

_Saki impaled Yoshi with his Tekko-Kagi._

_"YOSHI!"_

Karai gasped as she cupped her hands over her mouth. Shen merely looks away from the scene, unable to relive the memory.

" _W-What?" Saki spoke._

_Suddenly, Tang Shen ran to Yoshi, who lay on the floor, his hand over his wound. Shen grabbed the katana Yoshi had and began fighting Saki herself. She managed to knock his helmet off of him, revealing his face to be Oroku Saki. Shen stopped as she looked upon his face._

_"S-Saki?"_

_"S-Shen..."_

_"Argh!" Shen did not stop, rage engulfing her as she continued her fight though it seemed Saki did not want to fight._

_It wasn't long before Shen would deal him the final blow, but the fire had traveled to the ceiling, burning the support beams and collapsing onto the ground. A wall stood between Saki and Shen, too thick to go through. Shen merely stopped before going to kneel beside Yoshi as he breathed his finals breaths._

"From that moment, Yoshi told me to flee Japan, to protect our sons from him. I faked my death and took my children to New York as I had promised him."

The surroundings blurred until they became nothing but pitch black.

Karai awoke back in the dojo. She looked up to Tang Shen, and suddenly guilt overcame her.

"I-I'm sorry..." was all she could muster.

"Do not apologize for what your father did. You may be his daughter, but you weren't involved in that. You have nothing to be blamed on." Shen rebutted.

"I can't believe he did that. H-He would never do anything like that, especially to those closest to him." Karai tried to wrap her mind around everything she had seen, but it only gave her a headache. "It's so unlike him."

"I never thought he would do that too, but... you never really know."

The entrance door to the Lair sounded open.

"It seems my sons are back." Shen stood up from the carpet and walked towards the door.

"Shen..." Karai called out.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Shen nodded before leaving the dojo.

* * *

Days passed, and Karai had fully recovered. At any moment, she was ready to go home.

It was late afternoon, and Karai was in the lab with Donnie, who checked her for one final time to make sure she was ready to go.

Donnie pressed the stethoscope against Karai's chest. He listened to her heartbeat before moving on to removed the bandages that covered her wounds. To his delight, they were no cuts to be found. She had recovered marvelously.

"So, am I good to go?" Karai asked impatiently.

"Yeah. You've recovered far better than I expected, and the mutagen has finished processing in your body. You're pretty much good to go now." Donnie confirmed.

"That's good to hear. Thank you." Karai was overfilled with joy but kept her composure.

"No problem."

Karai stood from the chair and turned to walk out of the lab to the living room, where she saw Leonardo sitting on the recliner.

"Good news." She said, gaining the attention of the blue turtle.

"I'm good to go!" she said excitedly. "I can go back home!"

"That's great!" Leo responded, a smile plastered on his face. While the blue turtle was glad that Karai had recovered and was finally able to go home, he felt his heart being stabbed. One part of him told him he didn't want her to leave. He had grown to enjoy her company, and his tiny crush he had formed on her way back when had grown exponentially in the past week.

He wanted her to make stay a little longer, just a little bit.

"S-So, when are you gonna leave?" He asked her.

"I was thinking about later tonight. I don't want to keep my father worried any longer than he already is." Karai responded.

 _"_ _Worried might be an understatement."_ Leo thought to himself, recalling the night he and Raph eavesdropped on the Shredder.

Leo wanted to convince her to stay until tomorrow, but he saw from her face how much she missed him, how much she longed to finally go back. He couldn't be that selfish as to keep her down here.

"Oh, okay," was all the turtle could say.

The sun had set, and the moon was starting to rise from the horizon. The gradient and mixing of the violent and orange hues made for a beautiful sunset, one of the bests of the entire season.

Karai was about ready to go. She didn't have anything to pack since she was stripped of all her armor and weapons beforehand.

She refused the turtles on their offer to have dinner. "Can't go home on an empty stomach," Leo had told her to get to stay a little longer.

She could tell Leo didn't want her to leave, and if she was candid with herself, she didn't either. She grew to enjoy the company of their Hamato Family. But alas, she couldn't stay, her father is worried sick, and considering how protective he is of her, he's probably going insane right now.

Karai stood in front of the sewer entrance to the Lair. The other turtles, including Tang Shen, were there to say their goodbyes.

Karai turned to face them all, "Thank you for helping me this past week. I am completely in your debts." Karai took a bow to show her appreciation and respect for the turtle family.

"Of course," Shen replied, giving a bow in return as it is Japanese custom.

Mikey came up to her, "I never got to say this, but thanks for saving me."

"You're welcome."

"Guess it's time to go. My father is waiting for me." Karai said before she turned to the entrance.

"Wait," Shen called out, making Karai turn back to them.

Shen pulled out a cloth piece of cloth before going to wrap it around Karai's eyes.

"What is this for?" Karai asked, confused.

"Precaution." She finished tying the knot before walking over to Leonardo. "Leonardo, will you escort Karai out of the sewers?"

Leo was a bit taken back by the question but quickly caught on as his mother winked at him, his brothers trying to muffle their laughter at what that meant. He could spend at least until they reach the surface to be with Karai.

"S-Sure." He answered before going to Karai and grabbed her hand. The sudden touch made his heart flutter, his face turning red once more.

He walked closer to the entrance before he reaches up to pull down the lever. The entrance opened and revealed the sewers. Karai's nose scrunched up a bit from the rancid smell.

"Ready?" Leo asked Karai.

"Yes."

Both mutants took off, the entrance closing behind them, concealing the Lair once more from the sewers.

After taking very unnecessary turns through the sewers, both mutants made it to a manhole.

Along the entire walk, both did not say a word to each other. They had no clue what to say except for what they felt as they held hands. Leo's stomach fluttered at the feeling of holding her hand. Karai felt the same but not as intense.

"We're here," Leo stated as they stopped underneath a manhole. He went behind Karai to take off the blindfold. Karai blinked a few times, adjusting her eyes to the darkness of the sewers.

"What was up to the blindfold?" She asked.

"Precaution." He responded. "Just to make sure you won't go back on what you said."

Karai understood, nodding to the blue turtle.

"Welp, let's go." Leo raised his arms up to lift the manhole cover out of the way before he started climbing up, using the pipes inserted into the wall to pull himself up.

Karai followed, climbing up from the sewers and up to surface level into an alleyway. She was treated with fresh air and the warm, calm breeze. She finished her climbing, using her arms to lift herself to sit at the edge of the sewer entrance.

"Here." Leo extended his hand out for her to help. She took up and was lifted from the ground and up to her feet. They stood close for a moment before they backed up.

"So... I guess this is goodbye." Leo said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I guess so." Neither of them wanted to leave but knew Karai had to go.

"Um... Thanks again... for everything." She thanked him.

"Y-Yeah. No problem."

They had nothing else to say to each other.

Karai began to make her way out of the alleyway when she stopped herself. She had to do it now or never. She quickly turned back before grabbing Leo's hand and pulling him down, effected planting a kiss on his lips.

" _W-WHAT?!"_ Leo thought as his lips connected with hers. To say he was surprised was an understatement. He could feel his heart skip a beat, butterflies going crazy in his stomach, his blood rushing up to his face, his mind going dizzy.

The kiss only lasted for a mere second before Karai pulled away, but to him, it felt like an eternity. The feeling of her surprisingly soft and small lips made him want to feel them again.

"That was for everything," Karai said before she quickly turned to run out of the alleyway. She was stopped by Leo, who quickly turned her around, cupping her face in his hands and bringing her close to plant his lips once more on her lips, this time the kiss lasting for much longer.

She did not pull away; she deepened it. She was surprised at the smoothness of Leo's lips, expecting them to be more scaly and reptilian-like. She let her hands go over him, not wanting him to pull away.

Eventually, they had to. They parted from each other, letting their foreheads touch as they gained their breaths.

"You have no idea... how much I wanted to do that." Leo panted, still holding her cheeks in his hands.

"I can imagine... I knew you liked me, so I... thought I'd let you know how I felt." Karai confessed.

"W-Wait, what'd you mean?"

"I may have overheard your little conversation with your brothers after I had left the lab a couple of days ago."

"Oh," Leo said deadpanned, embarrassment rising up again as his cheeks got redder.

"Good thing you felt the same way about me." He chuckled, earning himself a giggle from Karai. But that laughter died down as they both realized that their special moment wouldn't last.

"I wish I can be with you," Leo admitted, his eyelid closed.

"Our two families will never let us," Karai said, squeezing Leo's hands tighter.

"Perhaps one day," Leo said hopefully, a tiny smile forming on his face.

"Perhaps in secret," Karai suggested. That got Leo interested.

"Secret?"

"Yes. I'll make sure my father doesn't know." Karai remained hopeful that Leo would agree to her proposal. "We'll keep seeing each other, that's for sure, especially if I have to kill you." She joked, getting a low chuckle from the turtle.

"Alright then." Leo agreed. "In secret."

Both of them kissed each other once more before parting. Karai backed away a bit before waving Leo goodbye and turning around to exit out of the alleyway, making her journey back home.

Leo stood still for a few moments, stilling a bit elated by what just happened. Not only did he confess to Karai, but he had his first kiss with her and was going to have a forbidden love relationship. How could've things gone any better than this?

Leo instantly made a Charlie Brown face as he remembered the kiss. He was not going to hear the end of it from the others, but he didn't care; he was in love.

Leo turned around back to the manhole when he fell into it, landing inside the sewer water and hurting his elbow.

"Ow..." He whined as he carefully got up from the water to climb back up to slide the metal plate back to cover the manhole.


	6. Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passed since Karai had left and kept her word. The turtles didn't encounter any Foot ninjas searching after them. Everything had gone back to normal.
> 
> Tang Shen's mind was still fixed on the conversation she had with the snake mutant. The name "Cheng" made her uneasy and reminded her of a tale passed down by her family. 
> 
> Michelangelo is off to visit an old friend as he takes a breather and reflect on everything that has happened in his family's lives.

Weeks had passed since Karai's mutation into a snake. When she had arrived back to her father in such a state, he became furious. Furious at what the Kraang had done to his own daughter. She didn't tell him the whole story, keeping her promise she made to the turtles.

Saki initiated a call to the brain-like alien from a communicator that was given to him.  
Said alien answered the call, the communicator projecting him to Saki.

"Commander Kraang," Saki started.

"Shredder! How nice of you to message me." Kraang teased the ninja.

"Quit the small talk. I have something very important to discuss with you." Saki snapped.

Kraang put up his arms in the air, "Calm down, no need to get all worked up."

"Why did you mutate my daughter?!" Saki questioned him.

"Mutate?" Kraang said, a bit confused.

"Do not play dumb with me, Kraang! I know you kidnapped my daughter and mutated her! I want answers, kraang or our alliance will be severed!" Saki threatened him, showing off his bladed gauntlet to the unphased alien.

"I can't deny it. I did indeed mutate your daughter, but! With the new alterations made by the mutagen, it has made your daughter even stronger than before. I made her twice the soldier she was before." Kraang responded nonchalantly.

"Why?" Saki asked.

"You are someone who wants the best of the best. You want to end those turtles as much as I do. So I thought mutating your daughter would help increase those chances of victory." Kraang explained, "Especially after the failure that your 'elites' committed with those robots I had sent you."

"You will pay for this Kraang," Saki told him. He's had enough of the pink alien.

"We'll see about that, Shredder. Now I have some important business to attend to. Ciao!"

The line was cut, the projection retreated back into the communicator. Saki threw the communicator to the ground out a fit of anger, cracking the marble floor on impact.

"I told you they could not be trusted."

Saki looked up from the floor to be met with Cheng entering the room, his staff in one hand with tea in the other.

"I know, Cheng," Saki said, not in the mood for his company at the moment.

"Not enough! I told you the moment that monstrosity stepped foot here that you shouldn't trust them. And look at what happened, your own daughter became like one of those disgusting mutants!" Cheng argued.

"That is enough, Cheng!" Saki snapped at the old man, who seemed unfazed by the outburst.

"Your father would have been ashamed of you," Cheng said before making his way back towards the door.

"You have no right to talk about my father like that!" Saki snapped again.

"No, right?! I have the right to talk about your father! I was his chunin! One of his elites! The one person he knew he could trust! I was there during his reign of power and his downfall! So don't think I cannot speak about your father when it is you who cannot! You never met your father, so how would you know anything about him?!" Cheng snapped back.

Saki was taken back by Cheng's words but knew them to be true. Saki could only turn his back against the old mystic. Cheng's mouth curved up.

"If it wasn't for this aging body, I would have taken charge of the Foot myself," Cheng said before retreating from the room, leaving Saki alone with his thoughts.

Sometimes he just couldn't stand Cheng.

* * *

The sound of a rolling skateboard filled the streets that led to the city's outskirts, the Mutant City. Michelangelo skated through the mass crowd of people. The streets were bustling with mutants, food vendors on every corner, and small shops littered most of the streets.

Mikey continued his way through the streets and into the central plaza, where many locals spent their time relaxing. He passed by the plaza, greeting those back who had called out to him.

He arrived shortly at the local skating park. He entered the fenced-in area and searched for someone.

The turtles usually don't come down to the mutant city unless visiting friends, and that's exactly what Mikey was doing. His eyes darted from person to person until he landed on the one he was looking for. His face brightened to a smile as his friend came up to him, skateboard in hand.

"Yo Mondo!" Mikey happily greeted.

His friend is a short yet older, yellow with blue and green patterned, gecko. Mikey met Mondo during their preteens in the mutant city. Like the orange turtle, Mondo was human before he had mutated into a gecko. Because of his mutation, however, his family had disowned him as a child. People still hadn't understood the whole deal about mutants, so they feared them, chasing them away. Mondo happened to be one of the unlucky ones, but that doesn't bother him. He's happier without his parents.

"Mikey! It's been a while. You ready to spread that art around the city?" Mondo greeted him back.

"Always, dude!" Mikey responded.

"Follow me bruh, I found this wall that is perfect," Mondo said to the mutant.

Both mutants grabbed their skateboards and started making their way out of the city, Mondo taking the lead.

They arrive at that perfect spot that Mondo had said about. They were in an alleyway far beyond the city that had a dead end. One of the buildings' wall was blank like a fresh piece of paper, a perfect canvas for Mikey to go wild.

"This is perfect!" Mikey exclaimed to his scaly friend.

"I told you! So, what you gonna fill it up with?" Mondo asked him as he took a seat on top of boxes that were lying on the ground.

"You'll see," Mikey told him.

Mikey sets his skateboard on the opposite wall beside Mondo's and takes off the backpack he had with him this entire time. He sets it down next to him and opens the zipper. He pops a stick of gum in his mouth and put a set of headphones on his head. He played his favorite playlist and grabbed a can, and shook it. He began his work.

* * *

Tang Shen sat on the couch in the middle of their home's living room, her legs crisscrossed with Donatello's laptop on her lap. Unrolled scrolls, paper notes, and coffee stains and mug were strewn about the coffee table. Shen grabs her mug and takes a sip of the drink as she scrolled down the current web page.

Donatello walks into the living room as he searches for his missing laptop when he spots it in his mother's lap. He perches from behind the couch, setting his weight on his arms as they lay on top of the couch.

"So that's where my laptop's been." He says, gaining his mother's attention.

"Oh, sorry." Shen apologized. "Do you need it back?"

"No, I was just wondering where it went," Don replied.

The purple turtle observed the clutter around his mother and read the webpage she was currently on. It was a Japanese website that seemed to focus on ancient ninja clans, the Foot Clan to be exact. This piqued his interest. Why would she be researching them?

"What's all this?" He asks as he takes a seat next to his mother, not ripping her gaze off of the screen.

"I'm searching for something," Shen answered. "Something about what Karai and I talked about had kept me a bit uneasy."

"Really? Like what? That Shredder wants to rip us into tiny shreds." Donnie replied sarcastically.

"Besides that one. She mentioned someone by the name of Cheng, and it sounded familiar."

Donnie looked down at the scrolls before him and noticed a very worn scroll hidden beneath the others. He leaned his arm out to grab it. "What're all these for?"

"Scrolls that I took before I left Japan. Some of them date back to almost the conception of the clan." She explained.

"Cool." Donnie unrolled the scroll in his hand and was surprised at its very well kept condition. Even though the outside of the paper seemed worn, the inside remained as it did many centuries ago. He began to read the text.

_To whoever reawakens the first blood... shall release the ancient evil once defeated long ago._   
_Mind and body can be replaced, but a soul cannot._   
_If this evil is to be eradicated, the tribunal's last blood must venture into the land of souls and destroy the demon from within._

"Destroy the demon from within? What the hell does that suppose to mean?" Don questioned.

"That scroll is connected to an ancient legend and prophecy about the Foot Clan," Shen explained.

"The first jonin of the Foot Clan had sold his soul to an Oni and, in turn, turned him into one. He used his power to conquer all of Japan. The Ninja Tribunal, which was led by many clans like the Hamato and Lotus, banded together to put a stop to him. And while they stopped his reign, they could no fully defeat him. While his body was destroyed, his soul was not as he cast a spell that one of his descendants will reawaken him and resume what he had done. Thus his body was locked away, protected by all ninja clans to prevent the prophecy from becoming a reality."

"And do you believe it?"

"Of course not, even if your grandfather told your father and me otherwise." Her face soured at the mention of Yutta.

Donnie could feel his mother's distaste for the man. From what he was told, he was pretty glad they never met their grandfather. He leaned back into the couch as he relaxed his body into the cushions. He turned his head slightly, "Was that another reason why he was so hard on you and dad?"

Shen took a moment to answer, "Yes. And it was the main reason why he forced your father to rule over the clan."

She huffed as she closed the laptop in front of her. "Why am I even worrying over some little ghost story?" She said in frustration. "This is stupid."

"I don't think it's stupid," Donnie reassured her. "With everything that's happened... Kraang, shredder... it's better to be prepared than not. Besides, an ancient evil guy coming back to life sounds more plausible now than it would've like a year ago."

Shen smiled, "Thanks."

"Why the sudden worry?" He asked.

"Karai had mentioned someone named Cheng, a mystic within the Foot and someone who was there when the Hamato Clan struck down the Foot way back when." She explained. "She told me how she hated how Cheng often manipulates Saki into doing some of his biddings."

"Manipulates?" Donnie mumbled.

"I know this might just be pure paranoia, but there's just something about him that doesn't sit right with me." She said, a hint of worry in her voice.

Donnie looked down again at the scroll still in his hand before asking, "So this scroll, what does it mean in regards to the legend?"

"It's like instructions on how to defeat the demon if he were to ever be reawakened. One must travel to the spirit world and destroy his soul there to truly defeat him." She explained. "I should start training you all in the spirit world, just in case."

"Great, more training." He said sarcastically, which earned him a good slap to his arm. "Kidding!"

They both sit in the comforting silence of their home, the only sound of passing subway and the busy streets above keeping the sewers from being completely quiet.

Shen takes a deep breath before sighing, "Look at how much worse things have gotten in such a short amount of time. I hate how much we've fallen into the rabbit hole."

"It sucks... having the constant weight of fear looming over us. Not knowing if he will come out and..." Donnie didn't even dare finish that thought. Flashbacks of when he thought he was going to die by his hands came flooding into his brain. His body shuddered in response, and his chest tightened, his breathing becoming slightly hitched.

Shen places her hand on top of his, the touch instantly calming him down. He leaned his head on top of hers, feeling himself relax into her motherly warmth. Donnie isn't someone to give affection, but just having his mother sitting next to him with her hand on his is enough for him to feel calm.

They did not speak, just letting each other embrace the comforting silence around them. Something inside them told them to stay put for a little while more, as if something was going to happen.

* * *

Mondo watched in awe as Mikey poured his heart and soul into the paint. Spray can after spray can did he use to create another masterpiece. Mixing all of the colors in his backpack from a blob of color to a beautiful image.

As Mikey continued his work, he decided to converse with his friend. "So what's been happening, man? Anything exciting lately?" He asked.

"Nah, man. Same old same old. Still the pizza delivery boy." Mondo responded.

"Don't you get tired of that?" Mikey asked.

"Sometimes, but I don't usually think about it. It lets me take stuff easy and focus on my music." Mondo said.

Mikey stepped back once he was done and admired his work. The wall was covered with the words "ninja turtles" while sporting his brother's weapons beside it with a few slices of pizza here and there.

He turned to face his scaly friend, "So, what do you think?"

"I like it! Ninja turtles, huh? You've been running around playing hero, haven't ya?" Mondo told him as he got off the boxes and went in closer to observe the masterpiece.

"Yeah, gotta take down those ninjas and alien robots," Mikey admitted to his friend.

"You know, that reminds me, some weird stuff's been happening recently," Mondo said aloud, sparking interest in his younger friend.

"What weird stuff?" Mikey asked him while putting away the spray cans back into his backpack.

"For the past couple months, mutants have been... disappearing," Mondo told him, a bit hesitant.

"Disappearing?"

"Yeah, nobody knows why. Everybody's just been careful not to stay out too long, especially at night." Mondo explained, crossing his arms.

"Woah… that's not good," Mikey responded as he began to gaze into oblivion.

As Mikey stared into space, his mind began wondering. He started speculating if any of these disappearings had anything to do with the Kraang. He knew some mutants had been gone for a while but never thought it to be serious. But why would the Kraang want to kidnap mutants if they were already kidnapping humans? This was too much for his brain to process, just so many things the kraang have been doing that it's just becoming too much.

Mondo took notice of Mikey's floating mind and put his hand on his shoulder, and shook out of his trance, startling the orange turtle.

"Something wrong, dude?" The gecko asked, concerned.

"What?"

"You don't look rad. I know something's going on." Mondo said.

Mikey turned his head away, rubbing the back of his neck, "Sorry, it's just… a lot's been going on recently. It's… a lot to take in."

"You know you can talk to me," Mondo said. Mikey turned to him and smiled genuinely.

"I know, and thanks. Just…" He gave a pause, "I-It feels like everyone's out to get us. It's stressing everyone out because every time we hit the roofs, we have to keep on our toes, making sure we don't let anyone sneak up on us and kill us."

"My bros haven't exactly been straight. I know they're stressing about what's going on. They don't show it, but I know."

"Things have gotten worse since we fought Shredder, that one dude I told you about last time. Not only has he got his soldiers looking for us throughout the city, but he's also made an alliance with the kraang, the robot aliens. They want us dead, and we almost were a couple times."

"That's rough, dude." Mondo was all he could say, still trying to process everything his turtle friend said. He knew that all of this took a toll on him.

"Sometimes I just want things to go back to the way they were before all of this happened, ya know? Go back to the time where everyone is not out to kill us." Mikey admitted, his hand in his pocket and his head bent down where his hat could cover half his face.

"I'm not a guy who gives comfort, but..." Mondo puts a hand on top of the young turtle's shoulder, "...things will get better. How do you think I've made it this far?"

Mikey turns to face him only to see a smile plastered on his face. Mikey returns the smile warmly.

"Thanks, dude." He replies.

"Anything for you, bro."

They both share a much-needed hug. Though Mondo wasn't usually someone who would go out of their way to display affection, he would make an excuse to his closest friend. After a moment or two, they separated from the hug.

"Let's go, I don't wanna be late to my- what?!" Mondo was cut off as he laid his eyes on something coming behind them.

Both reptiles turn around to see a small group of Kraang robots, three to be exact, approaching them, guns in hand and ready to fire.

"Kraang!" Mikey blurted out.

"Kraang?!" Mondo repeated, not entirely sure what was happening.

"Do not struggle mutants." One of the droids said.

Mikey grabbed his nunchucks from their holster before hurdling towards the robots.

The Kraang began to fire at the mutant turtle, but he was too fast for them, dodging each and every time they fired their guns.

Climbing up the wall, parkour-style, Mikey propelled himself off the wall and kicked down a robot before moving on to destroy the other two.

After getting his nunchuck unstuck from the robot, he took a moment to regain himself, bending over with his hands on his knees.

"What were those?!" Mondo blurted out to his ninja friend.

"The Kraang," Mikey straightened himself, "The alien robots I told you about…"

"Wait! Those are real?! You weren't joking?!" Mondo asked him, much to the surprise of the orange turtle.

"No," Mikey said blankly as Mondo gave himself time to process this.

"You don't think they could be the ones responsible for the kidnappings?" Mondo speculated.

"Maybe, but why would they?" Mikey asked himself but knew he wouldn't figure it out on his own. He grabbed his backpack then turned to his gecko friend.

"Mondo, I need you to stay safe, okay. If you ever see these guys again, get away from them as fast as you can." Mikey warned him.

"I got it, bruh," Mondo replied in agreement, much to the relief of Mikey.

"Come on, let's go before more show up," Mikey said before leading the way out of the alley.

* * *

It had become night sooner than expected for the mutant gecko. He was on his way home from work delivering pizza around the city. As he was about to make his way down to the subway to catch his ride home, he heard a strange noise come from the dark alleyway just a few yards ahead. He decided to investigate even though he thought this was a bad idea in the back of his mind.

He came up to the source of the sound and saw nothing suspicious in the alleyway, just a stray cat looking for its next meal. He sighed in relief and turned to head back to the subway.

Before he could make it to the sidewalk, his jacket was grabbed from behind and pulled back. Although he got free by taking off his jacket, he was shot by a tranq dart in his neck. As the contents flowed through his body, his sight began to blur, his head began to spin, and his legs couldn't hold him up anymore. He collapsed to the ground before he was dragged into the darkness of the alleyway.


	7. Leatherhead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sightings of crocodiles in the sewers prompt the turtles to investigate, only to befriend said crocodile who brings troubling news.

It was dark, the only light guiding the cold metal halls are the magenta-colored lights scattered along all four sides of the walls. In the darkest corners of the halls, stood a large figure who was badly injured. Panting, it carried something enveloped in a dark cloth, almost like a blanket. It waited patiently for the opportunity to venture further in the maze of metal. A couple of robots came down the hallway and took a turn to the adjacent hallway, opposite of the one the large figure was. Once they had been out of earshot, he continued his way down the hall towards the elevator. Pressing in a code to get access, the doors slid open and he walked inside, the doors sliding closed behind him.

The journey down to his desired floor lets the large figure rest for a moment. He reached for the cloth and lifted it up slightly, revealing the object that it had been concealing underneath. It radiated a light purple glow, wires poking out the ends of the object. It was round and large, metal-covered most of the object. He covered the object once more with the cloth as he reached his destined floor. The doors slid open and he walked outside to be met with a large storage room.

He ventured his way through the room as he made his way towards one of the far corners of the square box. He scanned the area to find it to be perfect. He began shifting and moving the racks and large cloths towards the corner to conceal what he was about to do. He set the object down carefully on the floor before preparing himself for his next action. Cracking his knuckles, he raised his hands in the air to bring them to the concrete floor, creating a fairly large crater in it. He repeats this action until he creates a deep hole within the floor. Although exhausted, he continues to dig his way down the hole. After one last impact towards the concrete, his hand feels nothing but air. After digging out the debris, he sees that he had made it to his exit, the sewers. After making sure no one was around and that his hole was concealed from the naked eye, he grabbed the object, securing it tightly in the cloth before making his way down the hole, landing in the stream of polluted water. Without a second thought, he continued his way through the sewers, getting far away from where he came from as much as possible. He couldn't let them find it, the object he held in his bare hands. He couldn't let find it. He would risk his life for it, until his last breath.

* * *

**Six Months Later**

It was an ordinary day in the city of New York. A rather cloudy day but a calm one nonetheless. In the sewers of the city, we see the turtles venturing through the tunnels, in search of something.

"Remind me why we're here again?" Raphael asked the group as he held his hands together behind his head. He wasn't exactly thrilled to be searching with his brothers. He would rather much be back at home going at it at his punching bag but here he was in the sewers with his brothers finding something that was probably a hoax from paranoid people.

"Reports say that there have been a couple of sitings of a large alligator causing havoc in the sewers. Also, some cases of gunshots here too, perhaps connected to the alligator." Donnie explained to his red-clad brother.

"But I thought we drove away all the alligators when we were kids?" Mikey pointed out.

"Whatever it is we gotta investigate it, let's just hope it's nothing too bad." Leo reasoned. The turtles continued onward through the sewers.

Suddenly, at the other end of the tunnel, gunshots and a loud roar filled the sewers.

"Let's go!" Leo said before heading down towards the source of the sound.

They ran and turned the corner to find a group of Kraang shooting at a very large alligator who was trying to fight back against the robots. He was covered in bruises and cuts and it seemed his exhaustion was catching up to him, he wouldn't last long.

"The kraang!" Mikey said aloud. "We need to help him!"

The turtles rush in and defend the exhausted alligator, destroying all the kraang that were in sight. While the turtles were doing that, the large alligator gave in to its exhaustion, collapsing on the cold wet floor of the sewers.

The turtles scanned the area to find all the Kraang wiped out.

"Is that all?" Leo said as he continued to search for any lurking Kraang but came up fruitless.

"I think so," Raph responded as he too came up fruitless.

Donatello squats down next to the unconscious reptile, running his hand over the rough skin, feeling all the scars, scratches, cuts and bruises. As he inspects the reptile, he comes across a large cut on his lower side. It was fresh and was bleeding out rapidly, possibly the cause for the alligator's unconscious state. He needed it to be patched right away before it becomes infected.

He turns to face his brothers, "He's badly hurt. I need one of you to go get my med kit."

"Why can't we just bring him back to the lair?" Mikey questioned his brother.

"Have you seen how big this guy is?" Donnie responded to his baby brother.

Mikey gave a good stare at the reptile, his eyes widening as he continued to stare, "You got a point."

"I'll go get the medkit," Leo says before making his way back to the lair.

The rest of the turtles stay on guard, making sure no Kraang come back and keeping an eye if the alligator wakes up. Raphael squats down next to his purple-clad brother and gazes at the reptile in front of him.

"It looks kinda ugly looking," Raph says coldly, earning himself a slap on the back of the head by his twin.

In no time at all, Leo arrives back to his brothers with the medkit. He handed it to the purple turtle and began patching the unconscious reptile, careful of not waking it. It didn't take much time to bandage the reptile, despite being double the size of the turtles.

Donnie stands up from his squat position, rubbing his hands to clear off the grim that had been built upon them. "That should do it. For now."

"So, now what?" Mikey asks the group.

"We can't leave him here," Leo said.

"We can't move him either," Raph argued.

As the turtles thought on how to help the alligator, said reptile began opening its eyes. Quietly, as to not startle the turtles, he got up from the floor, his movements still sluggish but slowly regaining his strength.

"We can't leave him. What if the kraang come back to get him?" Mikey reasoned with his brothers.

"Kraang…"

The turtles freeze upon the sound of the voice and direct their attention towards the source, the alligator. It stood behind Donatello, being nearly half of the purple's height taller, causing a shadow to engulf the purple turtle.

Donatello slowly turned around to be met with an enrage reptile. Drool dripped from its mouth and its eyes were completely white.

"Kraang! Argh!" It roared as it began lashing out at the turtles.

The alligator was in a fit of rage that could not be quenched. The turtles tried to stop the raging reptile only to have their efforts be turned against them. Raphael was smacked into the wall of the tunnel while Leonardo was pounded to the ground.

"Stop!" Donatello yelled out to the alligator as he tried a different tactic to calm the reptile.

The alligator spotted Mikey who was shaking in place, too afraid to move and too frozen to think. It charged at the orange turtle, readying itself to knock the turtle out. Before it could hurt the young turtle, it was whacked in the head by Donatello's staff, causing the large reptile to be disoriented. Donnie brought Mikey behind him as he continued to point his staff at the reptile.

The reptile regained focus and stared down at the purple turtle in front of him. He did not dare make a move nor did the turtle. They stood still.

Slowly, Donatello lowers his staff towards the ground, bending his body down but not breaking eye contact with the large reptile in front of him. He set his staff down on the ground before lifting himself, standing straight once again.

The reptile still did not move, keeping a cautious eye on the turtle, not sure of what he was doing. Suddenly, Donnie began moving forward towards the alligator, making it flinch and ready to strike. Donnie was quick to put his hands up, stopping it in his tracks.

"No, no, no..." Donnie whispered.

It was tense between them but Donnie decided to push through. He took another step, slower than the one he had taken previously. The alligator stayed still but it tensed. Donnie continued to whisper to the giant reptile.

"Shh... We won't hurt you," Donnie cooed.

Somehow that seemed to calm the reptile. Its muscles relaxed and his stance lowered. As Donnie came closer, so did the alligator. It pressed his head in the turtle's hand, taking in the scent before smelling the rest of the turtle.

"There we go... easy... I'm not gonna hurt you," Donnie continued with the soothing words as he began to rub his hands over the reptile's head, continuing the relax it.

Soon, the white eyes vanished to reveal the hazel colored orbs. It took a few steps back, shaking its head to clear away its dizziness.

"Ugh... my head..." It spoke as it brought a hand on top of its head and rubbed it, soothing the already forming bruise.

"You okay? No more rampaging thoughts?" Donnie asked the reptile. It took a moment or two to realize what the turtle had said before making a response.

"I… thank you…" The alligator said.

As he regains his focus, he gazes over his surroundings. He sees the turtles beat up and the destroyed Kraang droids everywhere. He gazes upon the purple turtle who was concealing a terrified orange turtle behind him.

A wave of confusion washes over him before it is cleared by the memories coming back to him. He bows his head in shame at the smaller reptiles.

"I am deeply sorry for hurting you four… I did not mean too… I do not know what came over me..." The alligator apologized, much to the surprise of the turtles but accepted it.

"No problem...oof" Leo accepted the apology as he rubbed his head, a bruise surely forming.

"What's your name?" Donnie asked.

The giant reptile looked hesitant at first, unsure whether or not to trust these turtles. But by the smell they gave off, the alligator soon realized they could be trusted.

He turned to face the purple turtle and introduced himself, "Leatherhead, my name is Leatherhead."

"Leatherhead? That's a cool name." Mikey said, slowly losing his fear over the large reptile.

"You don't mind telling us why were the… um…" Donnie started but quickly faltered, afraid of getting Leatherhead into another rampage by hearing the word "Kraang." Luckily for him, there was no risk.

"The kraang," Leatherhead said.

"Yeah… um, why were chasing after you?" Donnie finished his question.

"It goes far back but in short, I stole something from them. Something very important." Leatherhead explained.

"What did you steal?" Leo asked him, a bit intrigued by Leatherhead's statement.

"A key component for a portal device they have been developing for over 20 years," Leatherhead explained but he doubts these turtles would understand.

"Wait, a portal device?!" Raphael said aloud, shocked at the revelation.

"What could they be doing building that?" Donnie questioned, mostly to himself. Leatherhead caught eye of this and was surprised by their statement.

"You four know about the Kraang?" He asked them.

"Yeah." Leo answered, "Been fighting them for over a year now."

The giant alligator did not expect this from them but was quite intrigued by them. He wondered what they had been doing to the Kraang.

But his thought was cut short when he heard footsteps coming from the distant tunnels. They were faint but heard them nonetheless. He knew more were coming.

"More kraang are coming this way. Let us hurry to my burrow, there we can speak in peace." He told the turtles before going into the direction of the burrow. The turtles followed him close behind.

After making a bunch of turns through the sewers, they arrive near the abandoned drain, far from the surface and from the lair. Taking another turn away from the drain they arrive at Leatherhead's burrow. It is a closed-off sewer tunnel, although narrow, there was space to move around. Leatherhead goes towards his self-made chair and sits in it.

"Finally we can talk in peace," Leather said.

The turtles gazed at the amount of machinery in the burrow. Donnie was especially drawn to them, wondering how they worked and how they were built.

He turned his gaze to Leatherhead, "Did you make all of this?"

"Yes, most of it is kraang tech that I modified," Leatherhead answered.

As Donnie gawked over the machinery, his younger brother stumbled over something. A large spherical object the wrapped in cloth. He picked it up and removed the cloth to reveal a strange device.

He turns to Leatherhead, "Is this the portal device?"

"Yes," Leatherhead answers as he stands to retrieve the device. "Give it to me, it radiates low levels of gamma which is very toxic."

Leatherhead took the device out of the young turtle's hand and put it away inside a box.

"Going back about the Kraang, how do you know them?" Donnie asked.

Leatherhead takes a second for him to collect his thoughts. To try and figure out what words to say. He sits back down in his chair and gives his attention to the turtles.

"It starts out when I was barely a young reptile and way before the M-Bomb. I was the pet of a young boy who was flushed down the drain by his parents. I wandered the sewers until the kraang found me and took me in. I was exposed to the mutagen and transformed into what you see before you. With this new form, I was given vast intelligence and the kraang saw it as something they could use. I helped the kraang develop their technology and lived a good life with them. That was until I had discovered a dark secret about them."

The turtles were entranced by the reptile's story, not averting their gaze from him. Leatherhead took their attention as a sign to continue.

"They were mutating humans into mindless mutants and continuing experimenting on them. Not only that but I had discovered their portal device. They come from another dimension, dimension X and, to my knowledge, have been planning on taking over this planet. Whatever they are planning in their dimension, the portal they are building will help bring it through."

"What happened when you found out?" Raphael questioned.

"I was locked away and experimented on just like the rest of their subjects. I became nothing more than a lab rat to them. I had escaped a few months ago and I took this piece from the portal. Since then I have been wandering these sewers, trying to escape the kraang. They have yet to cease their hunt for me and the device." He answered.

"Can't you just destroy it?" Raphael asked.

"I have tried but my bare strength alone cannot make a dent in this. Though I fear these sewers will not provide me with safety much longer." Leatherhead admitted to the turtles.

"Sounds like things got worse… again." Leo said aloud.

For the past year, the turtles have been fighting the Kraang nonstop with barely any rest. At first, they thought it nothing but regular bad guys but as time passed, they have gotten stronger and more difficult to beat. Not only that but the Kraang teaming up with the Foot doesn't help their cost either.

Their discoveries didn't help either. Having to capture humans and turning them into mutants to now kidnapping mutants to wanting to take over Earth complicates matters to a whole other level.

"Like usual," Raph mumbled as he crossed his arms and leaned back into the wall.

"We can't let the Kraang get the device. It's too dangerous in their hands." Donnie said to the group, suggesting they should protect it, which was easier said than done.

"How do you expect us to do that? If they can track it, we can't leave it in the lair." Raphael argued.

"But we can't keep it here. This place is not secure enough to hide the device." Donnie reasoned as he tried coming up with a solution only to be met with nothing.

"How about we hide it in that abandoned train station on the other side of town," Mikey suggested to the group.

Donatello thought about his suggestion and found it to be plausible.

"It could be a good spot. It's far away from civilization and it's pretty closed off and hard to reach. I guess we could try," Donnie said.

He turned to the face the giant alligator who had his gaze at the device inside the box.

"Leatherhead," He called out.

"Yes, Donatello?"

"We think we have found a better place for you to hide from the kraang and to keep the device safe," Donnie told him.

"You have?" Leatherhead's face lit up at his words.

"Yes. It's far from here and it's been abandoned for a long time. It should be perfect for you if you're willing to move," Donnie explained.

"Thank you, but I fear you four have helped me too much already," Leatherhead tried to decline the offer.

"We want to stop the kraang at all cost and keeping you and the device hidden is what is gonna help us stop them," Leo told the reptile, receiving a smile.

"Thank you, turtles. Let us bring my belongings to this new place." He thanked them before standing up from his chair to begin packing and transporting his stuff to the place the turtles had told him about.

The turtles grabbed all his stuff and started making their way to the abandoned train station. It was a rather long walk, from what the turtles remember but knew it to be a good sign. After trespassing many "do not cross" signs, they made it to the train station. It was rather small for a train station but special enough to live in, especially for a 9-foot alligator.

"Here it is. Spacious and the tunnels lead straight into the sewers." Donnie said to the reptile.

"Thank you turtles. I cannot express my appreciation for this." Leatherhead said to them as he sets down the last box.

"Don't sweat it. If this is what it takes to help stop the Kraang, then we'll do it." Leo told him.

Once Leatherhead was settled in, the turtles made their leave, hoping that this place will give them enough time to stop the KRaang before things get worse.

* * *

Weeks had passed, the turtles have been investigating much about the Kraang's plan about the portal but have come up fruitless. Sleepless nights did both April and Donatello spent trying to decode the information they gathered from the Kraang. Even Leonardo and Raphael did recon missions only to keep coming up fruitless.

While there hadn't been any new reports on the sightings of the Kraang in the sewers, the turtles didn't want to think everything was good. They decided to pay Leatherhead a visit, mostly to see if the Kraang hadn't found him yet.

The turtles were walking through the dark, cold sewers from the other side of town.

"Hope Leatherhead's doing okay," Mikey said.

"That guy hits harder than a truck. I can still feel the punch he gave when he went berserk." Raph groaned as he began reliving the memory. His brother chuckled under their breath at the statement.

Donnie stopped in his tracks as he turned his head in every direction. The other took note of this and stopped as well.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked him.

"I hear something, it's close." He responded.

The turtles took a moment to listen, the sewer becoming silent. They listened, turning their heads in various directions trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.

Gunshots, a terrifying roar, it came from a tunnel near the train station. Another roar, this time much louder, soared through the tunnel.

"Leatherhead!" Mikey shouted, recognizing the owner of such sound.

"Come on!" Leo told them before heading straight towards the source, his brother quickly following behind him as they took out their weapons.

The turtles run into the tunnel only to find the Kraang firing their guns at Leatherhead who is seen to be holding the portal device in his hands, trying very hard to protect it. He was hurt, and barely conscious. The Kraang had taken a toll on him.

"The portal device!" Donnie called out.

"After them!" Leo said.

The turtles rush in and attack the Kraang, knocking some to the ground and or knocking their weapons away from them. But as luck would have it for the turtles, it wasn't going to a simple fight.

As Leo and Mikey were fighting off a couple of Kraang, one of them took out what appeared to be a net and threw it over the blue and orange turtle. There was a bit of confusion at first but then the net light up and electrocuted the turtle trapped inside, disabling them from the fight.

Raph and Don continued their attack on the Kraang but they were too outsmarted and captured in another net, becoming electrocuted like their brothers.

With the turtles disabled, they attacked Leatherhead and managed to grab the device from his hands before retreating from the sewers, leaving behind the reptiles. Leatherhead tried to go after them but knew he did not have the strength nor the stamina to chase after them. Instead, he went to the turtles and disabled the net, removing it off their bodies as they were finally free from the torture.

"Turtles," He called to them as he helped them up, being careful himself on not getting himself electrocuted.

"Leatherhead…" Donnie called out as he rubbed the front of his head.

"Are you hurt? What happened?" Leatherhead asked him as he checks his body for any injuries, luckily there weren't any.

"Ugh… we saw the kraang stealing the device… we tried to get it back but… we lost it… I'm sorry." Donnie explained to him, bowing his head in guilt.

Leatherhead sighed.

"It is not your fault, I was the one who let the Kraang get it. I left its side to do other things and when I came back I found the Kraang had stolen it." Leatherhead admitted to the young turtle. He helped him up from the floor, "Then again it was only a matter of time before they had gotten to it."

"What now?" Mikey said to the group.

"Things are getting so much worse…" Leo said aloud as he pressed his hand to his face, realization the consequences of losing the device.

* * *

The Kraang were on their way back to their hideout, the device safely stashed away inside a glass case where the radiation would be kept from harming them.

"We have the stolen piece of the portal, commander." A Kraang reported into its communicator which was on its arm.

The communicator displayed a projection of Commander Kraang who was smiling joyously.

"Excellent! Get it back to TCRI quickly, I do not want to waste any more time than I had already had because of that infernal reptile." The pink alien ordered as the projection was shut off.

Things, as the turtles had said, are indeed getting worse.

A little extra something:


	8. TCRI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After discovering Kraang's true plans from Leatherhead and the USB chip, the turtles, alongside Leatherhead, decide they need to destroy the portal before anything bad happens.

It was the middle of September, the city of New York was cooling down for autumn and eventually winter. The breeze was light but it still remained warm to still garner people outside.

The turtles were infiltrating another Kraang base in hopes of destroying a portal, but their search still remained fruitless. It was just another lab filled with kidnapped mutants that they freed. That seemed to be becoming usual as of late. At first, humans were the ones kidnapped and mutated but some time ago the Kraang kidnapped mutants instead. The turtles are still unsure why and the information they gathered didn't explain anything. All they could do is just free the mutants.

Another Kraang fell to the floor, its robotic head ripping right off the body as Raphael had struck his sais inside it. He cleared the scrap off his sai before heading back towards his brothers and Casey who had finished off other Kraang as well.

Casey had accompanied the turtles on their mission. It was usual for him to join along but not every time cause just like April, he too was in college and was a year ahead of her so while she is now a junior, he is a senior. Whenever he had time off, he would accompany the turtles on their mission and or go out with Raphael for a little vigilante business.

"April, where's the main computer?" Donnie said into his mic.

April, as usual, had accompanied them on their mission. Though she stayed inside the van, she was a big help to the turtles. Hacking into the Kraang bases and letting them know where to go and how many Kraang there was made mission fairly easy. Her hacking skills were unmatched, except for Donatello.

As she tapped away at the keyboard, a window popped up with a map on it.

" _It's on the third floor, the fifth room on your left,"_ April reported back to the turtle.

"Thanks," Donnie responds before heading towards the computer.

They ran up the three flights of stairs and hallway before entering the computer room which was still filled with Kraang.

"Don, head to the computer. We'll handle the Kraang," Leo told him before he, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Casey went ahead and started taking down the alien robots.

Donnie headed straight to the computer and took out a USB chip and inserted it inside the system.

"Chip is in. Do your magic, April." Donnie said.

" _Don't have to ask me twice,_ " April responded before she hacked away on the computer, downloading every piece of information she could into the USB while Donatello simultaneously tried activating the self destruct sequence.

The turtles made quick handiwork of the Kraang, destroying them in no time flat.

"Everything's clear. How's it going on the computer?" Leo asked as he came up next to his brother.

"Almost done. April, how long 'till you're finished?"

 _"Just a couple more seconds and… done!"_ She said as she finished typing the last of her code.

Donnie took out the chip before placing it back into his pocket.

"Let's go!" Donnie said before leading the way out of the building.

As the other headed out of the room, something caught Mikey's eye. On the floor was a single USB stick that looked familiar to the one Donnie had but it was more Kraang-y. He decided to grab it and put it inside his hoodie pocket before catching up with his brothers. They all made it out of the building and entered the van before driving back home.

"Donnie…" Mikey called out to his older brother.

He turned from his chair to face his younger brother and asked, "What is it?"

Mikey's hand went inside his hoodie pocket and took out the USB he had grabbed.

"I found this before we left. It looked important so I took it." Mikey said, handing the object to the purple turtle.

Don opened the little tab is had and discovered it was USB designed by the Kraang.

"Where'd you find it?" Donnie asked him as he inspected the object further.

"On the floor…" Mikey replied.

There was a brief pause from the purple turtle, "Really?"

"Yup," the orange turtle said blankly.

"Well, good thinking on your part. It could contain some information about the portal or the mutant. Gonna have to look into this when we get home." Donnie said before placing the USB in his pocket.

"Thanks, " He said as he petted Mikey's head, who enjoyed the gesture.

* * *

The turtles arrived back to the lair in no time. As the van was parked outside the lair in a tunnel that leads towards the subway tracks, Donatello heads straight inside his lab to decipher the USB while the others went to do whatever they do. Mikey went over to the couch to play video games with Leonardo and Raphael. Casey went home as he had classes the next day and really needed to get his grade up. April decided to spend some time with Tang Shen who was preparing tea in the kitchen.

She entered the room to be greeted warmly by the middle-aged turtle.

"It is nice to see again, April." Tang Shen greeted her as she fired up the stove to warm up the kettle.

"It's nice to see you too, sensei," April greeted back as she took a seat at the table.

"So, how was tonight?" Shen asked as she took a seat on the other side of the table closet to the stove.

"The usual, we tracked down the Kraang, fought them and destroyed the place before we left," April explained as she laid her head on her hand.

"I see," The kettle whistled, signaling the water was done boiling. Tang Shen got up from her seat and turned off the stove. She grabbed a teacup and scooped a teaspoonful of green tea into the cup before pouring in the boiling water.

She turned her attention back to April, "Would you like some?"

"Yes, please." She responded as the turtle made her a cup of tea. She brought them over to the table and handed one to April.

"Thank you." She said before blowing the steam away and taking a sip of the warm and soothing liquid.

"You always know how to make the best tea." April praised her.

"My father was obsessed with tea, he would teach me how to prepare it to be perfect every time," Shen responded.

"Guess he taught you well," April said as she took another sip.

Both stayed silent as they drank their tea. Shen turned her head to see her sons in the living room from out the kitchen entrance. She smiled at them, enjoying the sight of her sons but her smile soon faded, her expression turning gloom. Her mind began to wander away, setting itself into a trance. April took note of this. It surprised her a bit, seeing such an expression she'd never seen from her sensei.

"Is... everything alright, sensei?" She asked worryingly.

Shen was startled as she was broken out of her trance. She shook her head to regain her mind.

"Huh? Oh, I-I'm fine." She said, waving her hand up and down slightly.

"Are you sure?" April insisted.

She knew she couldn't hide anything from her, April was much too observant of people. She sighed.

"I've just been... worried." Shen started.

"Worried? About what?" April asked.

"About... my sons." She said. "Ever since Shredder had attacked them... every time they go up to the surface... I-I get so worried that.-"

"That he'll find them and finish what he started," April finished her sentence, though wasn't sure if she got it right. The turtles had told her about what happened that day but only enough to get a brief gist of it.

"Yes," she confirmed, taking a brief pause to sip her tea.

"It is not just that either," she started again. "From what they say about the Kraang, capturing mutants, mutating humans, and now this portal it..." she took a pause, "At times, I wish my sons would have not gone out and decide to play hero for the city."

"Can't you just tell them not to-"

"I have tried countless times. It is futile to convince them." Shen argued. "They are too stubborn but I have myself to blame."

"Blame? For what?"

"If I hadn't trained them then they wouldn't be playing hero but if I didn't, the Kraang would have probably done more harm to the city than they already have."

"A double-ended sword, huh?" April said.

"Yes."

They stayed silent for a moment, not saying a word. Shen turned her head back towards the entrance of the kitchen and laid her eyes on her sons. She gave a defeated sigh.

"All I can do is just, hope that everything will be alright. That once everything is over, I won't have to worry about them anymore," she said.

"But that is only wishful thinking."

Shen stood up from the table, grabbed her tea and headed out the kitchen. She stopped at the entrance to look back at April.

"I will be in the dojo," Shen told her before continuing on her way, leaving the red-headed girl with her thoughts.

Something inside April's mind knew something was going to happen in the future, and she was sure it wasn't going to be good. The way her sensei sounded, her worries, she had to know something bad was going to happen. While that thought floated in her mind, April dismissed it, thinking that it was just paranoia.

She took one last gulp of her tea before setting it in the sink to wash later and headed out the kitchen to meet with Donatello. He probably needed help with decoding the drive Mikey found.

* * *

The night had passed since the purple turtle had locked himself in his lab, trying to decode the USB for any information that could be useful. So far, he was empty-handed, even with the help of April, there was no way of deciphering the code.

After getting a good breakfast, the turtles came to Donnie's lab to find him still glued to his computer. Judging by the empty coffee pot and various mugs littered on his desk, he had pulled an all-nighter again. April was already there with him, sitting in a swirly chair of her own.

"How it going? Have you deciphered the chip?" Leo asked as he came next to his younger brother, putting his hand on the desk and leaning his body on it.

"The code is impossible to crack," April answered instead as the purple turtle was too focused to pay attention.

"We've tried everything we could to decode it but nothing has worked. Donnie stayed up all night trying to decipher it but nothing." April continued.

"That's no good," Leo said disappointedly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Argh! Stupid, fucking-!" Donnie snapped as he banged his fist on the keyboard in a fit of anger. He let himself cool down a bit before attempting to break the rest of his computer. He took in a deep breath and pushed himself away from his desk, turning around to face his brothers.

"Sorry, long night," Donnie stated as he grabbed his coffee and took a sip, ready to engage in the conversation.

The group stayed silent for a moment, the disappointment of the chip still in the air.

"What about Leatherhead?" Mikey suggested to the group. "He knows a lot about the Kraang. Maybe he can decode the chip for us."

"That's not a bad idea," Leo said as he put his hand to his chin, considering his brother's idea.

"Worth a try," Raphael said.

Donnie pushes himself back to his desk and takes out the chip from his pc and put it in his pocket. He stood up from his chair and grabbed his staff before heading towards the door.

"Let's go, he could be our best bet," Donnie said to the others before heading out his lab. The others quickly followed suit as they exited the room.

* * *

The group headed down towards the old abandoned train station that Leatherhead was now living in, thanks to the turtles. They arrived at the station, walking quietly as to not startle the large reptile inside.

Leatherhead was organizing his new space, setting up security and finding a spot to place his other contraptions. He took a long sniff as he immediately recognized the scent lingering in the air. The turtles had come to him. He took another sniff to find they weren't alone but with a human. He remained cautious of the human.

"Leatherhead!" Donatello called out as said reptile turned to welcome them.

"Turtles, a pleasure to see you four again." He greeted. He took a glance at the human before him, remaining cautious.

"Who is this?" Leatherhead asked the purple turtle.

"She's our friend," He stated. "Don't worry, she's not gonna hurt you." He reassured the large reptile as he placed his hand on his arm.

He took a moment to inspect the human, taking in small sniffs of her scent. He deemed her trustworthy by her scent but also considering the turtles must trust her enough to bring her with them.

"My name's April," She greeted him with a wave of her hand.

"I am Leatherhead," He greeted before turning his attention back towards the turtles. "Now, why have you four come here?" He asked them.

"We came because we found this." Donnie pulled out the USB from his pocket and showed it Leatherhead.

"We tried to retrieve the information from inside but the code was impossible for us to decipher. Perhaps, you could help us with that." He stated as Leatherhead grabbed and inspected the drive.

"I see. I may have something for that." The large reptile said.

He walks over to a computer he had just finished setting up. He connects the computer to a strange power source which could only be from the Kraang. He plugs in the USB into one of the sockets and begins decoding the drive.

Everyone gathers around him to observe his work. He scans the code diligently, keeping a watchful eye on errors and mistakes. He manages to go through most of the code quite fast, faster than Donatello had last night. Soon, he found an error and the only error in the code.

"I see the problem," He states, piquing the interest of the rest.

"What is it?" Donnie asked him.

"You accidentally typed one of the commands wrong." The alligator stated blankly to the purple turtle.

Donatello froze up on the spot as the other snickered, covering their mouths to muffle their laughter. Donnie felt devasted, how could he let a mistake like that ruin him? He suddenly felt his soul leave his being, at least what was left of it. The others continued to giggle under their breath.

Leatherhead corrected the mistake and cracked the code. "There we go. Everything's deciphered."

"Thanks, Leatherhead," Leo said.

"So what does it say?" Raph asked the reptile as he leaned in to get a view of the code, trying to see if he can read it.

Leatherhead scans through the documents to which only he can read as they are in the Kraang's alien language. As he reads, he stumbles upon classified folders which he opens. He reads through the documents to find something bad.

"This is not good." He states.

"What is it?" Raph asked worryingly.

"They have completed the portal," Leatherhead stated.

"That is not good," Leo said aloud.

"Definitely not good," Mikey reiterated to make it more serious.

"Not only that but…" He continued skimming through the file, "they will test it in the upcoming days and judging by the date of this file... two days from now."

"That is bad," Leo stated.

"Bad? This is terrible!" Donnie exclaimed.

"So what do we do?" Raphael asked his brothers.

They knew this was serious. They couldn't afford to let the Kraang activate the portal, who knows what they could bring from the other side. They had no choice.

Leo turned to his brothers, "We go and destroy that portal."

"Can we do that?" Mikey questioned him, unsure about his course of action.

"We have to try. Who knows what they could be planning on bringing over from that portal. I'm sure it's not anything good." Leo reasoned with him. The others knew Leo was right, they nodded back to him, signaling they were in on the plan.

"The portal is located in a building near downtown called TCRI, I know the ins and outs of the building. I will accompany you four to find and destroy the portal." Leatherhead said to the turtles.

"You sure you want to head back there?" Donnie asked him.

"If it means destroying the kraang, then yes. I will go with you." Leatherhead responded with a smile that Donatello gladly returned. The extra help will definitely come in handy.

"Sounds like a plan," Leo said.

"I will prepare whatever I can to help in destroying the portal," Leatherhead responded, with a nod from the blue turtle.

"TCRI, here we come."

* * *

For the next two days, the turtles prepared themselves for what was about to come. They trained for most of their time, preparing for anything that could come their way. Donatello along with Leatherhead made a chip that could hack into the portal device and deactivate it and destroy it from the inside out.

They decided to leave April and Casey behind on this mission, figuring it would be risky to bring them with. Surprisingly, the humans understood and complied. Casey still felt a little hurt as he really wanted to bash some robot heads.

It was the night the Kraang would test the portal and the turtles were getting ready to not let that happen. They were in the living room gearing themselves up, grabbing extra weapons that they could carry. Tang Shen came out of the dojo as she watched her sons.

"Leonardo," She called out.

He turned his head around to give her his attention. "Yeah?"

"I would like to speak with you in the dojo," She said before turning to walk back inside the dojo. Leonardo got up from his seat and walked towards the dojo.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Leo asked as he stood next to his mother in front of the shrine that was attached to the wall.

The shrine was a very sacred place for his mother. It bared the memories and image of Hamato Yoshi, her now-dead husband. His picture was in the center of the shrine on a single shelf with candles lit on either side. Further bottom hung weapons, Yoshi's weapons, ones he had left behind in the ashes of the fire that still burned inside Tang Shen's mind. He was very a skilled martial artist and had mastered many weapons; the katana, the sais, the bo, and the nunchaku to name a few. They had been displayed on the shrine since it was built, never having been touched since, not even by Tang Shen herself.

Tang Shen lit another candle, blowing out the long wooden stick before setting it down in an ashtray.

"I wanted to talk about... what is going to happen." She said to him, keeping her body facing the shrine.

She took a deep breath, "You and your brothers are going to face, possibly, your hardest mission yet to stop the Kraang. You will not know what is going to happen and I want you to be careful."

"We will, you don't have to worry about that," Leonardo reassured her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"As the eldest of your brothers and the leader, promise me this," She turned to face him, grabbing both of his hands in hers.

"Promise me, promise me that you will come back to me in one piece, that you will do everything you can to protect your brothers."

"I promise," Leo said sternly.

"Now go, you have no time to lose," Shen told him before he left the dojo to meet up with his brothers. They departed shortly after, making their way to Leatherhead then to TCRI.

* * *

The turtles traveled through the streets until they reach TCRI, in the outskirts of the downtown area. The security on the building would make it impossible to get through, luckily Leatherhead knows the way. The turtles head through the sewers until they reach a tunnel with a hole in the ceiling. Leatherhead gives the turtles a boost up the hole inside the building before going up on his own.

"What is this place?" Mikey as the giant reptile who had just gotten out from the hole.

"This is the storage unit for the Kraang or the basement for you four." He answered as he quietly moved the shelves and cloth out of the way to let the turtles access through the rest of the room.

"There is an elevator that will lead to the floor where they have the portal. Let us make haste." Leatherhead said before darting towards the elevator on the other side of the room. The turtles following shortly behind.

They find the elevator and get inside, the extra weight reducing the speed of the transportation to the portal. It was a steady ride through the elevator, a simple tune played in the background.

"Remember the plans guys, once locate the portal, we sneak our way over and insert the chip Leatherhead and Donnie made. That should override the system and cause the portal to self destruct. We only have one shot at this so don't mess it up." Leo reiterated the plan to the other reptiles.

"We got this, Fearless Leader," Raphael responded. "Nothing is going to stop us."

"I hope so."

The turtles arrive on the last floor shortly after. They exit the elevator and hide within the shadows on the hallways, luckily it was dim allowing easier travel through the hallways. Leatherhead led the turtles through the maze of metal and magenta light, stopping whenever Kraang came walking in their direction.

They made it through the hallways without much trouble and located the room to the portal. There was only one problem, it was locked and needed a card to get in.

"Sewer apples," Mikey blurted out in disappointment.

"Maybe if I can hack into the motherboard, perhaps I can get us inside," Donnie said as he whipped out his phone.

The sound of metal clanging and banging to the floor caught the attention of the reptiles. They turned around to see find Raphael had already taken down a Kraang robot, holding its keycard in his hand.

"No need," He handed the keycard over to Donatello. He grabbed it and hovered it over the lock, the door opening on command.

Leatherhead held the door open with his arms. "Get in, quickly."

The turtles got inside before Leatherhead lost his grip on the doors. He got inside and the doors closed behind him

"I-Is that...?" Mikey pointed to the middle of the room. The portal.

"Yes, Michelangelo. That is the portal." Leatherhead confirmed.

The portal was large and connected to all sorts of energy sources. Cables cluttered the room as they littered the floor and ceiling, limiting mobility. Three large rays faced the disc underneath it. The ceiling was open, allowing the cool air of the night to seep through.

Many Kraang surrounded the portal with a giant one in the middle. It seemed to be their leader.

"All systems are a go, sir," One of the Kraang reported.

"Excellent. Activate the portal and set coordinates," The large robot ordered.

The Kraang activated the machine, flares of plasma and electricity came out from the rays of the portal. Suddenly a bright light shot out from the rays and onto the disc below which reflect off towards the sky.

"The portal is stable and coordinates are set, sir!" The robot reported.

"Yes! Excellent! My plan is finally coming to fruition! Soon I'll conquer this mudball of a planet!" The large robot exclaimed.

"Not good," Mikey mumbled.

"Definitely not good," Raph repeated.

"I will contact you once I have the technodrome complete. For now, I must return to Utrominum. I have a planet that needs conquering. Ciao!" The large robot said before entering the portal and disappearing.

"Technodrome? Utrominum?" Donnie said, wondering what such a thing is.

"There is no time to waste. I'm going to head towards the control panel. Keep an eye on the kraang," Leatherhead said.

The turtles nodded in response as the giant alligator sneaked his way over to the control panel. He began typing away at the computer and got the chip ready to insert into the socket. Suddenly the alarms went off.

**_WARNING! WARNING! INTRUDERS! I REPEAT! INTRUDERS!_ **

The room blared red, the alarms sounding out any other noise. The Kraang spotted Leatherhead at the computer and began attacking him. He tried to get the chip inside the computer but he was pushed away from it.

"Leatherhead!" Mikey called out to the alligator.

"Come on we got to help him!" Donnie said before jumping headfirst into the fray. His brothers followed close behind, attacking all the Kraang in their way.

As the battle raged on, more and more Kraang came flooding into the room. The turtles tried desperately to get back to the control panel but there were just too many robots to fight.

"There's too many of them!" Donnie shouted as he whacked another robot to the ground.

"We can take them! Hold on for a bit longer!" Leo said to him as he cut through another alien.

Mikey is kicked in the stomach back towards the control panel, breaking the controls and activating the portal on impact.

"Mikey!" Raphael called out. He picked his younger brother up and dragged him towards the others.

As the portal activated, the turtles were backed up on the portal disc, unknowing that they had on been on it.

"Leo! Now might be a good time to get the hell out of here!" Raphael told his leader.

"I know!" He yelled back.

Plasma and electricity wired up from the rays as the portal was ready to activate. Leatherhead notices this and goes after the turtles, trying to get them off before the portal activates.

"Turtles! Get out of there!" He shouted to them but by the time the turtles realized what they were standing on, it was too late.

The rays shot beams of light onto the disc which reflected towards the sky once more. Leatherhead had gotten free from the robots and ran towards the portal to get the turtles out.

"W-What's happening?!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Oh no..." Leo mumbled as he realized what was about to happen.

The ray of light was gone in an instant and the turtles were nowhere to be found.

"No..." Leatherhead said before becoming bombarded with more Kraang. There were too many for him to fight so he fled from the scene. Guilt built inside him as he escaped TCRI and back into the sewers.

* * *

A couple of rooftops nearby was a man with binoculars, watching everything from TCRI. He had his hand on his right ear as he continued to view the scene.

" _Agent, report."_ The voice on the other side spoke.

"The turtles have disappeared from TCRI," The agent reported.

 _"Where too?"_  
  
"Not certain but they aren't here. They're gone."


End file.
